Thin Lines
by xXFissshBonesssXx
Summary: Zuko succeeds in capturing the Avatar, but after an encounter with a crystal, Sokka can suddenly earthbend and possibly more! Who's the Avatar? Tell me what you think.
1. Capture

**A/N: ** Short fic, chapter 1 about beginning... Someone alerted me that my words were _stucktogether_ like that, so I went back and spaced em' out ... I hope ...

**Disclaimer: ** Don't own Avatar or Aang or Sokka or Katara or Zuko etc ... I will own any OCs, and I'll tell you who/what they are when/if I decide to use them ...

**..oo00oo..**

**Chapter 1: **Capture

Aang looked up at Sokka. "Come on!" he called, "You can't be tired already!!"

Sokka looked down at the airbender over his shoulder, glaring. "You, airbender. Me? Normal human being. NORMAL equals no airbending, no flying, no fancy tricks."

Aang swung his hands up behind his head. "I could help-"

"NO! This has to be done by a warrior, without any magic!"

"No it doesn't," came the voice of his sister, "Sokka, it would be so much easier to let Aang help you ..."

Sokka shot his sister a look. "Look, a warrior like me doesn't need any help from an airbender, let alone a girl!" Katara frowned and rose her hand, water flowing around her palm.

Sokka looked up. There they were, the prized fruits of the tree ... just a bit further, and--

**Splash**

"Wahaaaahahaaa!!"

**THOOM**.

Sokka blinked at the up-side-down world, wondering if he hadn't broken every bone in his body from the fall.

Katara and Appa were laughing, and Aang was rolling around in the air. Sokka bit his lip and rubbed his dripping back.

"Katara! I was THIS close to getting those pears!"

Aang jumped in the air, a current of air assisting him to the higher branches of the fruit-bearing tree as Katara put her hands on her hips.

"Sokka, I know you feel like it's your job to find food for everyone, but Aang can help, too-"

"Hmph. Fine, I don't care," Sokka grumbled as Aang landed, "it's not like I can argue with two crazy benders."

Katara felt a pang of guilt. It was true... both she and Aang could bend while Sokka was just a normal human. He couldn't bend air or any other of the elements for that matter. He was just Sokka, her comical older brother. She sighed.

"I'm sorry, Sokka. I... "

"Hey, Katara, look!" The party looked to where Aang was pointing and smiled. "I found it!"

Aang landed next to Sokka, handing the grumbling boy a plump pear before jumping over to Katara and Momo and Appa, handing out the rest of the fruit. Aang grinned. "I found it, Katara, I found the Temple of Light!"

Katara offered Aang a warm smile. "Yup. Let's start going. It looks like an hour's walk from here." Sokka grabbed his sister's untouched pear and scrambled up Appa's back, taking a big bite out of it as he reached his usual spot near its rear. "Well, I'm not walking," he called from on top of Appa, "I'm tired from climbing."

Aang frowned. "But Appa's not coming with us-the passage to get there is too narrow."

Sokka's face fell as Katara and Momo giggled at him. The older boy hopped down off Appa's back, tossing his pear core into the bushes.

"Well, let's go! The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get off this island and back into the air."

Katara gave her brother a teasing smile.

"I thought you couldn't wait to get back on land a few hours ago?"

Sokka made an indecipherable noise and stalked off in one direction.

"Sokka? The temple's this way!"

The boy reappeared moments later, stopping to glare at his smiling sister and the Avatar before glowering and stalking off in the correct direction.

"I knew that!"

**..oo00oo..**

"Wow," Aang said, his voice echoing through the huge temple before them, "this place is HUGE!"

The word 'huge' boomed back at them, Katara and Sokka covering their ears as Aang was blasted back by the echo of his own voice.

"Well," said Sokka a moment later, softly, "let's go inside."

The temple had to be a hundred feet tall, as well as a hundred feet wide and a hundred feet long. It was like a giant dank, dark, hollow cube. Inside, there were two tunnels leading deeper into darkness. They were dimly lit by tiny lamps hanging on the walls. Aang turned to Katara and Sokka. "Which way should we go?"

Katara looked at Sokka and Aang and thought to herself. "Well," she said after a while, "Aang's an airbender, not to mention the Avatar. I'm a water bender, and Sokka's a warrior." Sokka gave a small smile. "But if he runs into a bender like us, he'd be in trouble." The smile fell.

"Katara, I can handle what ever you two can!"

Katara crossed her arms over her chest. "Really?"

"Sokka should go with you, Katara," said Aang with a smile. Katara looked startled. "Why is that, Aang?"

"Because I'm the Avatar-I can handle any kind of warrior. You might get in more trouble than me, and it'd be better if there were two of you."

Katara blinked and then jumped at Aang. "Are you saying that I can't handle myself?!"

Sokka shrank back and watched the two squabble for a while before Katara exploded.

"THAT'S IT!!" She shouted, her own voice echoing back to them like thunder, and Sokka and Aang dove to the ground, hands over their ears. The waterbender glowered at the two boys.

"I can handle myself fine, Aang, you'll see!" She didn't stop to hear Aang try to apologize and stormed off through the right tunnel.

Sokka and Aang looked at each other. "I guess I'm going with you," Aang said.

"I'm NOT going after Katara," said Sokka, crossing his arms.

"But you're her big brother?" said Aang softly, looking up at the teenager with big eyes. Sokka winced. _Playing the big brother card was low,_ Sokka decided. Aang smiled.

"But then again, she did seem a little angry. Let's take this other tunnel-maybe we'll meet up with her at the end of them."

Sokka frowned but Aang didn't give him time to think as he plunged off down the tunnel on the left. Sokka jumped, looking back and forth between the two tunnels before plunging down the one after the Avatar.

"Aaaaang! Wait up!"

**..oo00oo..**

Appa and Momo groaned, glaring at the spears and fire-benders that surrounded them. A few feet away, a teenager stomped his foot on the ground.

"He's here... I know it. I won't rest until I catch him! This time, I **will** capture the Avatar!"

**..oo00oo..**

"Aaaaang! Slow down!"

The monk skidded to a halt, looking around. "Sokka? Where are ya?"

"I ... am ... right here," panted the older boy, grabbing Aang's sleeve and gripping his wrist. He leaned against the wall.

"Are you ok, Sokka? You look tired."

"Well, excuse me if (_pant_) ... I can't (_wheeze_)... air-bend myself along with you!"

Aang looked sheepishly at the ground. "Ah, sorry about that. We can walk."

Sokka took a deep breath, but still panted. "Fine. Let's just stop for a while."

**..oo00oo..**

"Sir! There's a temple up ahead. We think the Avatar may have gone inside."

Yellow eyes narrowed.

"I will capture the Avatar today-follow me!"

**..oo00oo..**

Katara paused. _What's that?_ she thought, looking ahead at the soft light ahead.

She'd been making her way through the tunnel for some time by the dim light of tiny lamps at intervals along the tunnel walls. Now, a soft white glow presented itself at the end of the tunnel, some meters ahead.

"Maybe ... it's the end of the tunnel!"

She began to run towards the light.

**..oo00oo..**

"Sir, there are two tunnel-"

"I can see that, idiot!" raged the teenager, glowering down at the soldiers that were accompanying him. They flinched back as fire issued around their prince's fists.

"All right. You four, come with me. The rest of you, go down that tunnel. I want him and his little friends alive."

They nodded and shot down the tunnels.

**..oo00oo..**

Aang looked up.

"Sokka?"

"Huh?"

The Avatar stood up.

"Do you hear that?"

Sokka got to his feet.

"It's-"

"-fire nation warriors?" guessed Aang.

"Let's not find out," suggested Sokka, grabbing Aang's arm and taking off at a sprint down the tunnel.

They burst out of the tunnel quite suddenly and found a huge cavernous room with a wooden plank walkway leading to a suspended column of dark blue rock. In the center of the rock, there was an important-looking platform holding up a clear crystal. Aang's eyes widened.

"Oooooh ..." Sokka had a bad feeling as Aang wobbled toward the wooden plank bridge.

"Aang," said Sokka uncertainly, "I don't think this bridge will hold!"

"No problem," said Aang. He rose his hands. "I'll send you over first, and then I'll come!"

Sokka blinked before he realized what Aang had proposed, and he shouted in protest before wind pushed him up through the air and over to the platform.

"**Ah-HAH**!!"

Aang looked behind him with wide eyes to meet the heel of the fire-prince's foot in the chest, and he was sent flying into Sokka. Both boys grunted and were thrown into the crystal sitting behind them.

A flash of light filled the cavern, and Aang gave a yell as he was surrounded by white light, and Sokka clutched the stone to his chest, scooting away from the Avatar. _OhmygodOhmygodOhmygod_, he thought, _Aang's using the powers of the Avatar! I'm gonna be killed!_

He flung his arms over his head and the crystal flashed a second time. The light that was surrounding Aang flashed and leaked from his body to hover in the cavern, disembodied, before flinging at the wide-eyed Sokka.

Every person had to cover their eyes until the light cleared. When it did, the men by the yellow-eyed prince crowed around him.

"Prince Zuko, are you all right?"

"I'm fine!! Capture the Avatar and his friend!"

Aang used a gust of air to destroy the bridge that led to the column, and the firebender that had stepped onto it yelled as he fell into the darkness below. Prince Zuko glowered at Aang's hovering form as the monk descended to pick up Sokka, who still clutched the crystal to his chest.

"I **will** capture you, Avatar! Watch me!"

He stamped his foot on the ground and two of the men dropped to their knees, holding out their arms as Zuko jumped into the air. He used them as a springboard and shot at the dark blue column. Aang jumped out of the way but Zuko grabbed his ankle. Sokka yelled and ducked as Aang threw off the fire prince, the teenager landing next to him. Yellow eyes flashed with an idea and he thrust his hand out and a dagger of fire flared to life in his fist. Aang jumped to the ground as Zuko grabbed Sokka in a headlock and put the dagger dangerously close to the other boy's neck.

"Take one more step and see what happens." Aang stopped and rose his hands.

"Just try to airbend," Zuko challenged, bringing the knife closer to Sokka's neck, "Don't think I won't move faster." The other boy made an effort not to show how hot the fire was, but couldn't help a noise of discomfort as Zuko's grip crushed him.

Aang frowned and then nodded, his hands falling to his sides. "Ok. Just stop hurting Sokka."

Zuko's eyes gleamed. "Finally."

Sokka felt the grip loosen and gave a huge shove. Zuko's eyes widened as he was thrown to the edge of the column. Sokka was slightly surprised at his own actions. "All right, Sokka!" cheered Aang as he flew into the air and prepared to blow Zuko away.

Zuko jumped to his feet as the ground beneath him gave way, and he gasped as he began to fall.

Sokka froze. He knew it was an enemy, he knew it was the person who was trying to get Aang, the Avatar and his friend ...

... but it was still a person.

He flung his arm out even though the other teenager was too far away, and a rumbling filled the cavern. Sokka's eyes widened as a platform of earth flew out of the dark blue column underneath Zuko's feet, catching the other boy.

Aang stopped in the air, Sokka looking down at Zuko, who'd landed on a platform of earth extending from the blue rock in the center of the cavern.

The fire prince stared up at Sokka in shock before growling. "Great! The idiot's an earth-bender!"

An anger blotch appeared on Sokka's forehead.

"I am NOT an IDIOT!" he yelled, the sound reverberating through the entire cave. Aang clamped his hands to his ears as well as Sokka and everyone else but Zuko saw the window of opportunity and vaulted up to where Sokka stood and knocked him out with a punch. The boy fell and Zuko shouted to Aang.

"Come down, no tricks, or I'll take off his head!" The monk descended, allowing the fire warriors on the opposite side of the cavern to bind his hands and blind fold him as Zuko held a dagger of fire over his friend's throat. As Aang was bound and escorted out of the cavern, the scarred prince gave Sokka a kick in the side.

"Hmph. Worthless earthbender." He picked up the boy and slung his body over a shoulder, jumping down to the extended platform of earth and flinging them both back to the entrance of the tunnel. He lit the tunnel with a small flame from his hand as he returned to the outside. The rest of his men were waiting.

"Sir, we found this one in the other tunnel. She put up a fight, but she's unconscious now." Zuko nodded and tossed Sokka's body at a soldier.

"Take them all to my quarters and have my uncle watch them, as for the lemur and bison, leave them both bound and blindfolded. We're going back to the fire nation. I've captured the Avatar."

**..oo00oo..**

**End chapter 1**

**A/N: **uh ... updates might be slow b/c of work on other story and other story ...

**A/N2008:** Updating and fixing things... for old times' sake. (:


	2. Zuko

**A/N:** Short fic, chapter 2 about some things ... Mostly, I'm bad at humor, so this is just a little thing ...uh, possible SokkaZuko ... chapters will be short and choppy.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Avatar or Aang or Sokka or Katara or Zuko etc ... I will own any OCs, and I'll tell you who/what they are when/if I decide to use them ...

**..oo00oo..**

**Chapter 2: **Zuko

Zuko was feeling good. No, scratch that, he was feeling **great**. He was feeling better than great. Zuko was highly pleased with himself, for Zuko had finally captured the Avatar.

The only trouble was that he slept like a rock and snored like a boar.

_Why the heck did I tell them to put the prisoners in my quarters?! _Zuko asked himself as his good eye twitched. _And how can __**anyone**__ snore that loudly without waking themselves up?!_

But Prince Zuko knew exactly why the prisoners were in his room. Two of them he knew were benders, and the Fool displayed Earthbending abilities back in the cave when he saved Zuko's life. The reason they were all staying in HIS quarters: Zuko simply didn't trust anyone else with their watching. He considered himself the only person (besides his uncle) that was even capable of watching an unconscious Avatar.

However, as Aang rolled over in his sleep, drool running over the wooden floorboards, Zuko wondered how much longer it would be until he snapped.

**..oo00oo..**

Katara woke up to the flare of a candle. Groaning softly, she tried to get up. That's when she discovered that her hands were bound; quite tightly, too. Katara jerked off her brother's warm shoulder and looked around.

"Ah, so you're awake."

Katara looked up. A portly man with a pointed gray beard was lighting several candles next to a sleeping boy. Katara saw the scar on his face and realized that it was the Fire Nation Prince. Looking up, she watched the man light candles more closely, and gasped.

"You're a firebender!"

The old man nodded as he drew his hand away from the flame slowly. "Yes, that I am. You're on our ship now. My nephew wants to take the Avatar to his father in the Fire Nation." Katara wrenched herself into a better position as the man drew a blanket over the boy's shoulders. "You won't get away with this!"

She was surprised when Iroh turned to her with a bright smile. "Would you like some Jasmine Tea? It's awfully chilly tonight."

Katara blinked wide-eyed at the man and then shook her head.

"Suit yourself," he said, walking over to her. She huddled against her sleeping brother, trying not to show fear as the footsteps drew closer, then stopped, and went the opposite way. Katara didn't lift her head until the door clicked shut. Looking up from Sokka's shoulder, she saw the pillow the old man had left within her reach. Confused, Katara took the pillow from the floor and looked at the ceiling. Silence (excusing Aang's snores) gave Katara a medium to soak her mind in as she mulled why a Firebender would be so seemingly kind. _Well,_ she thought, _it was nice of him to give me a pillow. It's kind of rough to sleep on the floor, and I really don't want to wake up Sokka or Aang by using them as a pillow. Besides, that might be a little ... weird._ She looked at the ceiling.

"But ... why would a fire bender care? Maybe ..."

'..._maybe fire benders aren't all like the stories say they are.'_

Clutching the pillow to herself, she went back to sleep amid the content breathing of her brother and the animal-like emissions from the 12-year-old Avatar.

**..oo00oo..**

Zuko looked up as Aang rolled into the wall repeatedly, making a mild banging noise. His good eye twitched as he got out of the blankets his uncle had laid on him and picked up the monk by his shirt and flung him next to the waterbender and her brother. Aang bumped into Katara, who pushed Sokka over and the teenager fell over from his sitting position into the floor with a THUNK.

"Ouch!!"

Zuko resisted a smirk. Even if he could earthbend, he was still a fool.

Suddenly, Sokka took in his surroundings and position, as well as his bound hands. Looking up, he opened his mouth to yell when Zuko sneered down at him. "Would it be wise of you to yell?"

Sokka's face twisted and he frowned. "Why shouldn't I just wake them up? Aang and Katara could kick your-"

"Because if you make any loud noises, I'll kill the girl," growled Zuko menacingly, jerking Katara away from the wall quicker than Sokka could react but not hard enough to wake her up. The dark-skinned boy stiffened as Zuko's unoccupied fist flashed, fire flickering from the balled hand eagerly. Terror crossed Sokka's face briefly before he slumped back against the wall, a scowl of defiance and disgust on his face. Zuko smirked to himself and the flames around his fist died off into a warm glow, and he relished the soft warmth.

Sokka watched Zuko move his sister into a more comfortable looking position with suspicion before growling at the teenager. Zuko looked up, keeping a hand on the girl's shoulder. "What?"

"Get your hands _off_ her."

Zuko made a face. "She's **my** prisoner. I'll do what I please." Sokka jumped, eyes widening, but Zuko continued. "Not that I would want to DO anything to her ... she's ugly, and she's noisy."

Sokka let out a breath. Then, he looked over at the other teenager. Zuko was leaning back against the opposite wall, leering at him with his good eye. Sokka shuddered as he looked over the scar that took up almost a third of the other boy's face. It was a terrible burn wound; a horrible memory, Sokka guessed as his frown deepened. The fire prince became aware of Sokka's stare and shifted, eyes narrowing.

"What're you looking at?" Sokka blinked and he growled, anger rising in his chest. "Nothing-I didn't know it was illegal to look at dirt."

Zuko's eyes narrowed. "You'll pay for that," he hissed, "you're lower than dirt. I am a Prince and a warrior ... your insults mean nothing, worthless earthbender."

"What? I'm not an earthbender?!"

Zuko frowned. "Then what happened? I didn't see the Avatar helping you out. You must have been hiding your power."

"What?! I can't earth bend, I can't water bend, I'm not a bender at all!"

The thought that this blundering fool could have hidden anything seemed to enforce that in Zuko's mind. But if Sokka wasn't an earthbender, then what happened back in the cave?

Zuko got to his feet, walking over to where Sokka was glaring at him. Sokka watched the other boy approach with a dread in his gut, and then before Sokka could react, Zuko lashed out and grabbed two pressure points near his neck. The dark-skinned boy jerked and lapsed back into unconsciousness. Zuko left him lumped with the Avatar and went to his door. A few doors down, two guards were waiting for him.

"Watch them," he growled, "I'm going to speak with my uncle."

_(moments later on the other side of the ship .._.)

"Uncle!"

Iroh looked up as his young nephew burst into his room. "Yes, what is it Zuko? I sense a great irritation in you. You have captured the Avatar; what more do you want?"

Zuko's eye narrowed but he brought his anger down to a manageable level and took his time sitting down in front of his elder respectfully to let Iroh know that he was seriously troubled. The older man's brow furrowed as Zuko calmly took his place before him and crossed his arms over his chest before speaking.

"The girl, the water bender," her name escaped him now, even though the Avatar had called it out so many times before during their skirmishes, "apparently her brother is an earthbender."

Iroh's eyes widened and then narrowed. In most situations, amateur earthbenders were at a serious disadvantage against amateur firebenders, but a skilled earthbender could cause serious problems for even an equally skilled firebender. So that couldn't be all that troubled his young nephew.

"And?" asked Iroh in a serious tone, "It isn't like you to worry about anything but the Avatar. I see my wisdom is beginning to rub off on you."

"... " Zuko's eye twitched.

Iroh coughed. "Moving on ... what about that earthbender is troubling you?"

Zuko growled, patience wearing out. "I am NOT concerned about the earthbender. He's a fool and claims that he can't earthbend, but surely the Avatar didn't save me."

Iroh looked up sharply. "What?"

Zuko blinked twice at his uncle's suddenly sharp tone of voice but continued, "In the Temple on that island, the earthbender saved my life." Iroh's eyes narrowed. "And so now you are in his debt."

Suddenly, the full impact of what he owed the other boy hit him, and every candle flame in the room shot up ten feet.

"**WHAT**?!"

"If what you say is true, you are in his debt. You owe him..."

"Nothing!" yelled Zuko hotly, "I owe that commoner _nothing_!"

"Calm down, Zuko," Iroh said, sighing and waving a hand at his fuming nephew, "It's nothing to worry about now. Just remember that you do owe him something, and it might be in your best interest to repay it sooner than later."

Zuko snorted and crossed his arms. "Hmph. I have better things to talk with you about than that, old man."

Iroh nodded, deciding it best to let the issue drop at the moment. "Fine; what is it?"

The fire prince had been brought up in a castle before he was banished, and he knew most of the procedures of presenting a gift to a lord. "If we are to present my father with this gift, we must first contact him and inform him of our arrival. We'll be in the Fire Nation in a week's time. We can send a message on ahead."

"And what does this have to do with me?" asked Iroh curiously, "You are the commander of this ship; you don't need my permission to contact the fire nation."

"I do," ground out Zuko with clenched fists, "or have you forgotten that I was _banished_ from the fire nation!?"

Iroh shrugged. "That is not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?" Iroh looked the young prince in his eyes. "I was simply acknowledging your authority over this ship; I didn't mean to insult you."

Zuko was taken aback slightly at his uncle's words, and his irritation on the previous subject was pushed aside by a rush of something warm. He twitched, unused to the emotion, and Iroh smiled warmly at the fidgeting teenager.

"You are a fine young man, Zuko. I will get a messenger prepared within the hour." He stood and left the room.

Zuko sighed. He had to, once again, reevaluate what he thought of his uncle.

Just as he was getting comfortable with being calm, a soldier burst into the room.

"Sir! The Avatar has awakened!"

**..oo00oo..**

**End Chapter.**

**Closing A/N: **Ok, uh, I think I might continue this ... if anyone else is interested. I'm sort of just winging it here, and I'd really appreciate it if any Naruto fans readin would check out my other fic. I put more blood into that one. (well, my blood) This chapter was for mainly telling you about the debt thing and to show the way Katara doesn't judge people 'by the cover' as the saying goes, then to sorta re-enforce the unstable relationship Sokka and Zuko have at the beginning of this. The plot will focus a lot on Sokka in the next few chapters. It gets a lot more interesting in the fire nation ... Well, if I get it done ... uh, SokkaZuko is coming, I just don't know when. It's not just gonna be like they throw each other on a bed or something like that, because even though I'm lazy and slow, I don't deal with smut stuff ... well ... whatever. See you later. Looking forwards to another episode of Avatar soon.


	3. Katara

**A/N: **Chapter 3 about some things ... Mostly, I'm bad at humor, so this is just a little thing ...uh, possible SokkaZuko? ... chapters will be short and choppy.

**Disclaimer: **Same as always...

**..oo00oo..**

**Chapter 3:** Katara

Aang blinked his eyes open with a yawn. Katara groaned and sat up, bumping into the upright form of her brother. "Finally," he grumbled.

"Sokka, we're-"

"-on a Fire Nation ship, I know," Sokka grumbled.

Katara frowned at him and Sokka gave her an odd look, one she'd never seen before. Sokka was thinking about what Zuko had said, and how disrespectfully he'd treated her. She wasn't just some common kid, damnit, she was his sister! Katara cocked her head to the side. There was a real deep feeling circulating in the air. She was about to tell her brother that he looked like Momo to lighten the mood when he leaned back against the wall of the room.

"Hey, Katara?" His voice was oddly calm and warm in contrast to the cynical drone he took on in their usual back-and-forth banter. "Yeah, Sokka?" He gave her one last warm look before nodding to her sleeve.

"You're on fire."

Katara looked down to her sleeve, which had gotten too close to a candle, and had begun to singe. She gave a short yell and jumped away from the candle as Aang and Sokka laughed. Growling, she righted herself. "Why, you two-"

The door opened and all three prisoners froze, turning to face the scarred face that greeted them.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Avatar and his friends. How nice of you to finally join me."

Aang frowned. "Let us go," he said, getting to his feet. Zuko shook his head. "Not a chance."

Aang frowned. "I escaped before, and I can do it again."

"But with two of your friends to slow you down?" asked Zuko tauntingly as he moved closer to the monk who blinked and looked at his two friends. Katara backed away from Zuko with a defiant glare, Sokka standing, or rather sitting, his ground before the advancing fire prince. Aang frowned. "I can rescue them, too."

"Oh, really?" Zuko growled. He wasn't about to let the Avatar escape. Now that Aang was in his posession, there was no way he could lose him. He was more prepared than the first time. Aang looked to his left and his right, his brain working frantically to come up with an escape plan. Frowning, he shouted at Zuko, "You better let us go right now!"

The fire prince smirked. "Not going to attack? Afraid you'll hurt your friends if you do?" Aang stopped. '_Darn, I forgot about them again,_' he thought angrily to himself. Zuko waited. He would be damned if he was taunted into making the first move.

Finally, Aang sat down, yawning. "We **will** escape ... just (_yawn_)... not now." Zuko nodded and ordered the guards to leave the room. He turned to go with them, stopping at the door to send Aang a glare and Sokka a curious, disbelieving glance before following them out. The party of three followed his footsteps until they didn't sound anymore and Aang let out a breath.

"Whew! Being so grumpy has got to make him tired."

Katara rose an eyebrow. "Uh, I doubt it works that way, Aang. Now, we have to figure out a way to get out of here."

She furrowed her brow, tugging on her 'thinking-cap' and sitting back against the wall.

"Ok," she said aloud, "We're locked in here with our hands tied behind our backs. If that's our only handicap, then I've got a plan."

"Uh, hello? Non-magical, normal kid over here," announced Sokka as Katara and Aang turned to him, "You all are fine, but what am I gonna do, espically with my hands tied?" Katara smiled. "That's easy, bro-You just let me get you out of those ropes."

Sokka blinked in surprise. "How the heck are you going to do that?"

"Do you have your boomerang on you?"

A smile flashed across Aang's face. "We can cut the ropes off!" Sokka moved over towards his sister and Katara turned around and used her bound hands to (clumsily) retrieve the silver-blue boomerang from her brother's shirt.

"Hah," Sokka said triumphantly as Katara freed herself from the ropes, "They didn't even remove our weapons! What idiots!"

"We're still locked in this room," Aang pointed out. Katara sent the monk a look.

"Uh, can't you airbend the door off its hinges?"

Aang grinned sheepishly. "Oh. Yeah. Forgot about that."

"What do we do once we're outside the door? Run like hell?" proposed Sokka as he fell into a sprinting position next to Aang. Katara shook her head and elaborated as she cut their ropes away.

"They've probably got a lot of guards out there, Sokka! We'll have to fight them, or have Aang blow them all away with his airbending. Once we've got a clear path, Sokka will go ahead and I'll follow, and you can bring up the rear. Sokka can knock out anyone that we run into, and you can protect us from behind." Both boys nodded and got to their feet.

"All right? Ready ..."

**..oo00oo..**

The two guards outside the Avatar's room were suspicious.

"They stopped making noise a while ago," observed one of the guards as the first guard frowned and pressed an ear to the door.

**BAMN**-

The door (and the guard) slammed into the wall as Sokka darted out and knocked out the remaining two guards with a tackle and two well-placed headbuts. "Let's go!" he called as he got to his feet and sprinted down the hall, Katara and Aang at his heels. They made it through the first corridor without a man to face, flying through the doorway at the end of the hall that lead to the deck of the ship. As they got into their third hallway, a guard stepped out in front of them and Sokka slammed into his chest, the man falling to the ground, wheezing from the impact. Aang airbended the guards approaching from behind into the walls of the hallway. Katara looked up and a hand closed around her wrist.

"AAAaaahh!"

Sokka and Aang turned to see Zuko holding Katara's wrist in his left hand, the right balled in a fist, tongues of flame licking the balled hand.

"Freeze!"

"Aang, Sokka, GO!"

Aang nodded and flew at the door, kicking it open with a gust of air. He paused when he noticed that Sokka was lingering.

"Sokka, come on! We can rescue her later!"

Zuko's eyes narrowed. What would the little would-be-warrior do now? Run? or be a fool and try to play the brave hero? Katara struggled in Zuko's tight grip, shouting at her frozen brother.

"Aang's right, Sokka, move before more come! Then Aang will have to rescue both of us!"

Sokka looked back and forth between Aang and the open door and Zuko and his sister.

Zuko took the oppertunity to make an offer. "I'll trade you, the Avatar for the girl."

Sokka's eyes narrowed and he turned away from the open door. "How **DARE** you treat my sister like a bargaining chip!"

The ship began to shake.

Katara looked closely at her brother and her eyes widened as _flame_ erupted from Sokka's clenched fists. She was as surprised as Zuko, whose grip loosened enough for Katara to jerk to the floor. To anyone else, it looked as if Zuko had thrown Katara at the floor.

The dark-skinned boy snapped and flung himself at the stunned fire prince.

Zuko barely had time to raise his own fist to stop Sokka's punch and was even more surprised to have to duck a sweeping kick. What shocked him even more was the fire that flowed from him as he executed his moves. A stream of fire flowed over Zuko's head after Sokka's kick and the fire prince released Sokka's fist and rolled backwards to avoid a sharp jab of fire from a punch Sokka threw blindly.

_His attacks could hit me even if he misses! _thought Zuko with astonishment as he dodged a punch and another wave of fire.

Katara was staring up at her brother as Aang shouted over the flames, "How come Sokka can firebend?"

"I don't know," called Katara, scrambling to her feet, "but we have to help him!"

"No!" called Aang as he grabbed Katara's wrist, "He's distracting them for you, Katara! We need to move now!" The older girl gave a yelp as Aang airbended them both out of the open door.

Sokka stopped at his sister's scream and turned around. "Kata-"

Zuko tackled him to the ground when his back was exposed and Sokka cried out as they slammed into the floor. Zuko's fist rose up and Sokka wrenched a hand out to block the blow to his face too late and was amazed when the fist never met him. Instead, a light breeze carassed his skin and he looked up to see Zuko's astonished face, probably mirroring his own as they looked at the fist still struggling to finish its path to Sokka's face. A gust of air threw the fire prince off of Sokka's body and Zuko landed in the hall on both feet with a glare.

"What the hell? I was sure the Avatar was the last airbender!"

One of the guards that had made it into the hallway shouted, "There he is! That's the avatar, that's the airbender!"

Sokka blinked and looked around before his arms were caught and brought to his back. He let out a yell and looked up to see Zuko's fist over his head before he collapsed into a warm darkness.

**..oo00oo..**

**End Chapter**

**A/N:** First of all, Sokka isn't the new avatar or anything. All shall be explained if I continue. uh, SokkaZuko is probably coming, possibly soon. It's not just gonna be like they throw each other on a bed or something like that, because even though I'm lazy and slow, I don't deal with smut stuff ...er, just not in this fic... right now... well ... whatever. Hey, if you have time, tell me what you think was your fav. part? See you later. Looking forwards to another episode of Avatar soon.


	4. Avatar

**A/N:** Chapter 4 almost at the fire nation ... Mostly, I'm bad at humor, so this is just a weird thing ...uh, possible SokkaZuko ... chapters will be short and choppy. Hey, any SokkaZuko will be used for plot prodding, or helping the plot along. Don't flame about it b/c this is just my style of writing, and there are plenty of other things to do with your life ...

**Disclaimer**: don't own Avatar or Aang or Sokka or Katara or Zuko etc ... I will own any OCs, and I'll tell you who/what they are when/if I decide to use them ...

**..oo00oo..**

**Chapter 4: **Avatar

Sokka woke to the warmth of candle lights. He heard voices coming from his left and recognized the first with distaste.

"Uncle! This boy is the avatar!"

A second voice answered; much older, much calmer. "Eh? What about that monk?"

"This is the avatar."

'_What are they talking about? Where's Katara? And Aang?_'

"We don't need the other two, then. Let them go, Zuko."

"No. We'll hold onto them for assurance of his cooperation."

There was a pause as the second voice sighed. "As you wish, Zuko ..."

Consciousness fled from Sokka and he collapsed into the darkness of dreams once again.

**..oo00oo..**

Sokka woke abruptly as all the warmth vanished from on top of him. Reflexively he curled into a ball before remembering where he was and what had happened recently. He shot up only to be shoved back down. Sokka shook his head and looked up this time, meeting the glare of the Fire Prince.

Zuko's scowl made Sokka swallow. "You have explaining to do," growled the standing boy, "why is it that you can use the elements that only the Avatar has mastered?" Sokka growled. "What are you talking about? First earthbending, then this! I am not the Avatar ..."

Zuko looked down at him. "Silence. The true Avatar will be brought before my father once we reach the fire nation."

Sokka frowned. "How long is that?"

"It's just two day's sail from here."

Sokka frowned to himself and sat back against the wall to think calmly for a moment, much to Zuko's surprise. _'That means I have two days to figure out what the heck's going on.' _Sokka looked up at the other teenager. He fingered the boomerang hidden in his clothes while thinking. After a moment of silence, he chanced a question.

"Where is Aang?" Zuko turned around. "The Avatar... I mean, the monk, is asleep again."

"Where?"

"He's with the girl."

Sokka's eyes narrowed. "My sister." Zuko nodded. "What did you do to them?"

"Nothing ... yet."

"What do you mean, yet?" shouted Sokka as he jumped to his feet, the guards behind Zuko tensing and taking a step forwards, "You better let them go!"

Zuko's eyes narrowed. "Or else what? You said it yourself; you've no skill for bending anything." He cracked his knuckles and leered at the other boy. "I'll _crush_ you."

Zuko hadn't actually expected the dark-skinned boy to be provoked so easily. So when Sokka dropped down and swept his leg out, he caught Zuko completely off guard. The fire prince jerked as his right leg was hit and he lost his balance. Sokka grabbed his boomerang and held the sharper edge to the back of Zuko's exposed throat while pushing the prince to the floor.

The guards jumped forwards and Sokka shouted for them to keep back.

"First move I see or hear and I'll do it!" he threatened. A man behind Sokka took a step forward and the blade-like edge of the boomerang met Zuko's skin.

"Stop moving!" Zuko called.

Sokka looked up and listened and was pleased to hear no movement. Zuko growled as Sokka got into a different position while still holding the blade-like edge to his neck.

'_Why does he still have his boomerang?!'_ thought Zuko furiously, '_What idiot searched these weaklings for weapons?_'

"Hey," Sokka said, "tell your goons to back away from the door." Zuko spat best he could. The boomerang bit into his skin and the guards near the door parted without a command. Sokka looked left and right. "Further." The guards scuffled away from the door.

"You're seriously going to try and run?" asked Zuko from the floor, "You'll be caught as soon as you leave the room. You're more of a fool than I gave you credit for."

Sokka bit back a response as he kicked Zuko in the stomach and shot out the door, half the guards on his tail, the other half kneeling down to see to their prince.

"Sir! Are you alright?"

Zuko sat up, holding his side. "Of course I am! After him!" The guards dashed out of the room and Zuko coughed, flame flickering to life around his other fist.

"That ... _fool_ ... is DEAD!!"

**..oo00oo..**

Just down the hall, Sokka had broken into two empty rooms, and was beginning to think that Zuko was right about his 'plan'. '_Well,_' thought Sokka as he prepared to knock the next door in, '_I did think it up in less than thirty seconds ..._'

**-BAMM-**

The door came down and Aang jumped in front of Katara. Sokka gave a shout and Katara laughed as her brother sliced the ropes around her wrists away. The party of three turned to face the door where Zuko and his uncle stood blocking the doorway, six guards behind them with swords and spears. Zuko's good eye flickered with malice.

"End of the line, Avatar."

Sokka pointed at him. "For the last time, stop calling me the Avatar!!"

Aang looked at Sokka. "What? I'm the Avatar!"

The guards and Iroh looked confused. "Two Avatars?" murmured one man. Iroh looked at Aang and Sokka and then turned to Zuko.

"Your message reached your father, but he will not be pleased if you turn up with a false Avatar. How will you know which one is the Avatar for sure?" Zuko frowned. It was a good question. His father would NOT be impressed with him at all if Zuko were to bring back a boy that wasn't the Avatar or a bender at all. Sokka was talking again.

"Uh, remember me, the normal teenager guy? I'm not the Avatar because I'm not possessed by some weird spirit-thing that glows! Aang does that!"

"Not anymore, I don't," said Aang, patting the arrow on his forehead. Sokka and the rest of the people looked at him as he spoke. "Well, Katara and I got in a huge fight a few mintues ago, and I couldn't feel the powers of the Avatar in me at all. Usually I can feel them when I'm really, really angry. When I was angry, and I was really, really angry, all I felt was this empty pull. It's like they're gone."

Katara turned to her brother with a slightly sad face. "Face it, Sokka. You've already done earthbending, firebending, and airbending. You have to be the Avatar."

"Listen!_** I am NOT THE AVATAR**_! Never was, never will be! That's Aang's job! He was supposed to be the Avatar, not me! Besides, wasn't the Avatar a master of the elements? And wasn't he re-incarnated in Aang? I thought it was supposed to be impossible to seperate something you re-incarnated!!"

"That's right," said Iroh thoughtfully as Sokka finished exploding, "a re-incarnation is bound to their form until their life is over. Then they move on to a new body or the afterlife."

"Then what the hell is going on?!" asked Zuko angrily, glaring from Sokka to Aang.

"Slow down," said Aang as he stood up, "maybe there's a way we can figure all this out."

The blue arrows on Aang's body began to glow, and Aang's eyes flashed, filling with the same bright blue light that appeared when Aang activated the powers of the Avatar. The entire room gasped as Aang glowed, and the monk let out a deep breath and spoke in a deeper voice which sounded like several voices both male and female bound together.

"**We shall try to help, in any way we can.**"

Iroh covered his eyes to shade some of the light. "But who are you?"

Aang spread his arms out, the blue light from his eyes focusing on Iroh. "**We are the Avatar-past and present. We may be able to answer some of your questions.**"

**..oo00oo..**

**End Chapter.**

**A/N: **... and ta-da. Anyway, this is what's working for me. I'm going to explain a whole boatload of shite in the next chapter, so stick around while I cook it up. It'll make a whole bunch of stuff clearer ... yeah ... uh, there is a plot ... uh ... and there will offically be sokkaZuko. Yeah. Yes, I've taken into account that sokka is a warrior, as well as Zuko, yeah ... and don't even flame about it, because it's my story and it'll all work out ... yeah. Review? Don't have to, but I really appreciate it. Well, maybe if you wanna jack up the chances of another chapter, reviewing might motivate me to do more work ... yeah.


	5. Voices

_Author notes_: short fic, chapter 5, on the way to the fire nation ... Mostly, I'm bad at humor, so this is just a weird thing ...

**Disclaimer**: don't own Avatar or Aang or Sokka or Katara or Zuko etc ... I will own any OCs, and I'll tell you who/what they are when/if I decide to use them ...

Happy Easter ... yeah.

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Chapter 5: Voices

The blue arrows on Aang's body began to glow, and Aang's eyes flashed, filling with the same bright blue light that appeared when Aang activated the powers of the Avatar. The entire room gasped as Aang glowed, and the monk let out a deep breath and spoke in a deeper voice which sounded like several voices both male and female bound together.

"**We shall try to help, in any way we can.**"

Iroh covered his eyes to shade some of the light. "Who are you?"

Aang spread his arms out, the blue light from his eyes focusing on Iroh. "**We are the Avatar-past and present. We may be able to answer some of your questions.**"

Zuko looked back and forth between Aang and Sokka and turned to his uncle. Iroh shrugged. "What can be done but to ask?" he grumbled to himself before turning away from his nephew and facing the Avatar.

"Tell us who is the Avatar."

"**The monk and airbender Aang is the Avatar**," Aang said in the voices of the Avatars. The combination of voices made Sokka shiver. It was like listening to several people saying the same thing at the same time in different tones and volumes. Most of the voices were old but some were younger, not nearly as young as he was, but not ancient.

Zuko frowned and pointed at Sokka. "Then what's going on with him? He can firebend, earthbend, and airbend?"

"**We are not sure. We thought Aang was the last airbender**."

The voices stopped for a moment but there was a strange vibration in the room, whispers, as if the voices were talking with each other, and then the voices spoke through Aang again.

"**Something is wrong. We cannot find the strength to perform any bending but airbending**."

Katara frowned. "Aang is the Avatar. He was embodied with the re-incarnation of the Avatar of the last life!"

"**This is true, little girl**," said Aang in several voices that weren't his, "**but as of now, Aang does not posses the power to bend anything but air. He has, however, retained us.**"

"Then doesn't that make Aang the Avatar?" asked Katara, looking from her brother to the glowing twelve-year-old.

"**Yes and no. Yes, Aang possesses our souls and spirits of lives past. However, Aang is no longer master of all four elements**."

This caused some confusion among the people in the room, relevant or not.

Zuko looked at Sokka. "Then ... you have the Avatar's powers, and the monk has the Avatar's souls."

"**Correct**," confirmed Aang's glowing form.

Zuko's eyes narrowed. "But how did this happen? How is it possible that this fool-"

"_Hey_!"

"-is now the master of all four elements!"

Aang's glowing eyes narrowed. "**Do you not recall? The fault is YOURS**."

Every head turned to Zuko, who looked totally lost.

"Ok," said Sokka, drawing some of the attention off of Zuko who still received looks of disbelief from his own men and Katara, "I know that you're a firebender, but seriously, Aang-er, I mean, Avatar-person-thing ... How was it his fault?"

"**In the cavern**," began the Avatar as Zuko crossed his arms over his chest, "**The boy and Aang collided into the centerpiece of the Temple of Light, there was a disturbance. The centerpiece holds a magical force similar to bending.** **The boy was holding onto the centerpiece just after YOU knocked us into _him_. And _it_.**"

Zuko ignored the glare Sokka sent him.

"**It is possible that when Aang activated our power, Sokka activated the self-defence system the centerpiece holds. It acts like a blood transfusion: anything threatening the centerpiece's existance is sucked from its host life form and given to the host with the next purest heart.**"

Katara felt an inkling of pride that the centerpiece had judged her brother as purest in the room. Sokka was looking at his hands in clear disbelief. Zuko was glaring at Aang.

"So how is this situation MY fault?"

"**You were the one that knocked us into him,**" restated Aang, every one of his different voices slightly irritated that he didn't get it, "**And the centerpiece. YOU activated its self-defense system.**"

"How ironic," mused Iroh aloud to himself, "that you of all people would complicate catching the Avatar, Zuko. One holds the Avatars of the past life, and the other holds their power." He turned to Zuko. "Only one can go before your father."

"What am I going to _do_?" growled Zuko to himself.

Katara frowned. "Maybe you should let us go," she suggested, "we have to sort this out, if you haven't noticed."

Sokka looked up at Aang. "Hey, Avatar person?"

Aang faced him. "**Yes**?"

"Is there any way to learn how to use the powers?"

"**Yes, but it would not help**." Sokka frowned. "Why not?"

"**Because within a year, if our power is not returned to our soul's container, we shall perish. Aang will no longer be the Avatar. He will simply be the last airbender**."

Everyone froze.

"Are you telling me," said Zuko slowly, glaring at Aang and Sokka at the same time, "that the Avatar will vanish off the face of the earth for real?"

"**That is correct; within a year**."

The men behind Zuko murmured. "That means when the boy dies, the Avatar won't be re-incarnated! The next cycle won't come through!"

Katara shook. '_Oh no ... how are we supposed to reverse this?_' she thought desperately. As if Aang had heard her thoughts, the glowing monk spread his hands.

"**Fear not, for there is a way to return these powers to our container**."

Sokka and Katara looked hopeful as Aang explained to the room.

"**We ourselves do not know of a way this can be done, but we do know who can help you. She is an oracle of the Elements, and possibly knows of this already. She herself created the Temple of Light and created its centerpiece. She is also probably laughing at this entire situation. We were her first pupil.**"

Sokka frowned. "Ok, that's messed up," he whispered to Katara, "A woman was the one to train the Avatar?" His sister slugged him and he shut up.

"**She does not, however, live where anyone might discover her. She is hidden well among a place where the four elements are closest together; on a volcanic island in the sea.**"

"Of course," said Katara to Sokka who nursed his face, "the volcano has fire; the sea provides water, the island provides earth, and the wind provides air!"

"**To reach this place, you must follow our directions. Go to the West, then North, East, and finally South. Travel one day in each direction, setting foot in each kingdom you come to. Then, from the Water country, travel into the ocean for a fifth day, and you shall find her island.**"

"Wouldn't it be easier to just go to the location of the island?" asked Iroh curiously, "Why all this traveling?"

"**Because her island is only visible after these four steps. If one is not completed, then the island will not be visible or reachable**."

Zuko frowned. "That's impossible. Islands are islands; they don't move."

Aang didn't respond to Zuko, but spoke to Iroh. "**She likes to make things hard for everyone. She won't let anyone see her who won't follow a few simple directions.**"

"That shouldn't be too hard," said Katara, looking at Aang, "On Appa, we should be able to make the journey in the five days, easy."

Zuko glared and turned to his uncle. "Are we going to do what this glowing monk says?"

Iroh looked at Sokka and then back at Zuko. "If you know of a way to return the Avatar's powers, please don't keep us in the dark. If not, then set a course for the Fire Nation-It's a day's sailing westward."

Sokka suddenly realized something. "Wait," he called to Aang, "You said this lady-person taught you. How old is she?"

"**She is currently fifteen**," replied Aang after a moment of silence.

Katara's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean 'currently'?"

"**She is currently fifteen,**" repeated Aang. "**The last time we spoke with her, she had been re-incarnated in a male body and was thirty-six**."

Iroh's eyes widened. "So this woman is re-incarnated as you are?"

"**Yes**," confirmed the Avatars through Aang, their melodious voices sending shivers down Sokka's spine, "**she is always re-incarnated, though always as the opposite sex as we are.**"

Iroh frowned. "Why is that?"

"**We are not completely sure**," Aang said, "**It is not our place to say what we think**." While Sokka and Katara wondered what Aang meant, the monk had turned to the dark-skinned boy.

"**You must return our powers**," he pleaded with several different voices at once, "**Even if she knows how to reverse this, four days will have passed and her cure may take time. Please take care to make it to her island within the first five days**."

Sokka nodded, looking at his friend seriously. "Ok, Aang. We'll try."

The glowing monk smiled as the light faded. "Thank you," he answered in every voice, this time including his own. The light faded and Aang fell into Sokka's arms, Katara rushing over and checking him for anything abnormal, but he was just exhausted. Iroh turned to the men behind him.

"Well, weren't you listening? Set a course for the Fire Nation!"

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end

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Yay ... another chapter.

Okay ... next chapter will deal with stuff, but right now it's basically getting to this mystery island that I'll work on, yeah. The ship'll be tense with Sokka and Zuko on board. There's gonna be some arguing and Katara and Aang have to quickly learn how to play the peacemakers ...yeah. There's all sorts of stuff but for now I need to go to bed ...

Review?

Don't have to, but I really appreciate it. You can like ask questions, about like what the heck's going on ... or what I've got coming up ... Well, if you wanna jack up the chances of another chapter, reviewing might motivate me to do work ... yeah.

later,

ciao


	6. Sails

_Author notes_: short fic, chapter 6, on the way to the fire nation ... Mostly, I'm bad at humor, so this is just a weird thing ...

**Disclaimer**: don't own Avatar or Aang or Sokka or Katara or Zuko etc ... I will own any OCs, and I'll tell you who/what they are when/if I decide to use them ...

The person we're going to find later is an OC ... haven't decided what she's going to look like, though.

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Chapter 6: Sails

The light faded and Aang fell into Sokka's arms, Katara rushing over and checking him for anything abnormal, but he was just exhausted. Iroh turned to the men behind him.

"Well, weren't you listening? Set a course for the Fire Nation!"

The men jumped and excused themselves from the room. Iroh put a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "Zuko, come. I must speak with you." The fire prince, still a little upset at the Avatar's spirits, allowed himself to be extracted from the room and locked the door behind him as he left.

"All right, uncle."

Iroh gave him a serious look. "If all of this is true, we must set foot on the Fire nation first. Not only is Commander Zhao there, but also your father. We must not only politely decline any of their offers to extend our stay, but we must also keep the crew aboard the ship." Zuko frowned.

"Why is this?"

"_Think_, Zuko," began his uncle, "if people of our nation discover the Avatar is in two pieces, they will come after one or the other or both! We must keep our men aboard, and not allow anyone to question them." The scarred prince nodded.

"Fine. You make sure the Avatar and his little friends won't escape."

He stormed off towards the front of the ship before his uncle could protest. Iroh gave a sigh and turned back to the door Zuko had locked. He laughed at his nephew.

"How am I supposed to watch them if you lock me out, Zuko?"

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Katara and Sokka took off their jackets and made a pillow for the sleeping monk's head. The dark-skinned boy let out a sigh and slid back against the wall.

"Sokka?"

"Hm?"

"What are we going to do?" Sokka frowned and looked at Aang. "We have to ask Aang, too. Let's wait 'till he wakes up." He smiled at his sister. Katara returned the smile.

"We've got a year, right? Well, let them take us for a while. I don't like having to run all the time." Sokka's smile faltered. "Are you sure, Katara? These are Fire Nation warriors, and that prince guy is getting on my nerves ..." Katara sat back against the wall. "Well, it seems like he can help get us to the Poles quicker. I don't think that we can do anything right now. What if word got out that you had Aang's powers?" Sokka's eyes widened.

"... oh, crap. Not good." Katara nodded. "Exactly. We should stay with these guys. They'll probably want to keep this quiet, too, or else they'd have to worry about people coming after their ship."

Sokka put his head against the room's wall and a growl echoed in the room. Sokka laughed and Katara sweatdropped.

"Of course, with that stomach of yours, it's hard to be quiet anyways."

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Zuko returned from the main deck after an hour and went below, his uncle running into him on the way.

"Zuko, I wanted to talk to you again-about the ship when we get to the fire nation ..."

"Yes, uncle?" asked Zuko, willing to listen to whatever it was his uncle had to say or suggest.

"Well, I was thinking that we should get a smaller ship. This ship was not built for speed; it was built for battle. Though it is fast, it is not as fast as need to go. I looked at a map, and to make the journey in one day's time from continent to continent, we will need a ship that can handle the speeds and distance we must cover." Zuko's eyes narrowed.

"And what are these conditions?"

His uncle pulled out a map and drew several lines, Zuko's eyes narrowing with each one. The final line went almost across the entire map. His good eye narrowed.

"These figures ..."

His uncle nodded. "Pretty rough, especially sailing through some of these seas, eh?" Zuko's fist slammed into the nearest wall, leaving a nice indent of his fist.

"Rough! This is **impossible**! There isn't a ship in my father's fleet that can make that last stretch in a single day! Even with favorable winds, there is NO CHANCE of making it that far in only a day."

Iroh waited a few moments for most of Zuko's ire to pass. After some time with the fire prince, Iroh knew that Zuko's anger was like fire-it was hot at the first exposure, but after a while it would roar and crackle back down to a reasonable level that could be dealt with.

"Zuko, there is one ship that I know of. Your father and I worked on it before the times of war, for a project with our own father. He challenged us to make the fastest ship in the world. We met the challenge. Still today, the only thing faster than that ship are airbenders and flying bison and some other magical animals, but no thing constructed from man's hands have out-sped it." Zuko's eyes narrowed, scarred and unscarred.

"Where will we find this ship?"

"I will obtain it, Zuko. You must, in the mean time, keep the men and the Avatar on the ship." He paused. "However, the Avatar and his friends must set foot on our soil before we leave. Make sure they aren't seen, and make certain that they don't attempt to escape."

Zuko nodded. He would figure out a way to have them leave the ship and then go back on the ship later. For now, he would return to his room and wait until they reached the Fire nation.

'_Soon_,' he thought, his uncle disappearing as he returned to his quarters, '_soon I'll bring you the Avatar, father. Please be patient ..._'

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Aang woke to a hand falling on his shoulder. The twelve year old blinked his eyes open sleepily, rubbing at the tears that came with a huge yawn.

"Get up, Aang," came Katara's soft voice. Aang's eyes opened completely.

"Katara? What's wrong? What happened?"

"We're slowing down," she said, looking at Sokka, who was sitting a few spaces over against the wall, fingering the edge of his boomerang.

Aang frowned. "O-kay ... what does that mean?"

"It means they've reached the first place," said Sokka, hiding his boomerang before the door opened, "It means we're in the fire nation."

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Yay ... another chapter. Hope you're all not mad at the speed I update, because it'll start varying hugely soon ... yeah.

Anyway, I looked at some of the reviews.

First off, I'm totally excited (seems improbable for me) that so many people like this. yeah. I'm glad I can make people happy just by updating! Go me ... yeah. Any way, back to the reviews.

Second, the 'mystery girl' won't be until we get to the four nations ... which might take some time. but it happens. I hope ... yeah...

Third ... uh ... oh, yeah! The enemies do sorta have to 'band together' to fix this ...

Fourth ... I've officially planned the first bits of any signs of SokkaZuko in the next chapter. I think it'll be long, but I have yet to work on it ... yeah.

Thanks so much for reviewing ... I was gonna wait for 10 reviews per chapter, but I just can't wait ... yeah. Sorry if I go too slow/fast/whatever ... I'll update at my own pace, but I will update.

later


	7. Gazes

_Author notes_: short fic, chapter 7, at the fire nation ... Mostly, I'm bad at humor, so this is just a side fic ...

**Disclaimer**: don't own Avatar or Aang or Sokka or Katara or Zuko etc ... I will own any OCs, and I'll tell you who/what they are when/if I decide to use them ...

The person we're going to find later is an OC ... I know what she looks like. I'll have a pic up somewhere ... maybe at Distant Horizons ... (more info later)

I really gotta thank all the reviewing people ... at first I didn't wanna do this, but I guess it works now ... yeah. Read on ...

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Chapter 7: Gazes

"It means they've reached the first place," said Sokka, hiding his boomerang before the door opened, "It means we're in the fire nation."

Zuko and four guards stepped into the room. Zuko folded his arms over his chest and looked at Aang.

"Listen," he said finally, "I don't like it, but we're going to help you. If you want to get to all the nations you have to reach in the time you've been given, we'll need a faster ship." Sokka watched Zuko warily, moving closer to his sister in an unconscious effort to keep her 'safe' from him. Zuko ignored the glare he was receiving, and the odd sensation in his chest, somewhere near his heart. "Everyone will be moving to one of my uncle's ships. You're coming off the ship with us. Act like prisoners; hang your heads or whatever. Just don't airbend." He turned a glare on Sokka as a second thought. "And you better keep to yourself, too."

Sokka, who blinked twice as Zuko spoke to him, knew he should say something to the fire prince, but for a moment he couldn't take his eyes off him. Their gazes hadn't met, and not only was Zuko looking at Sokka, but Sokka was looking back at Zuko, ice-blue eyes taking in the smooth skin that shriveled and screamed across the prince's left eye. His gaze wandered to Zuko's good eye and he froze as their gazes locked. Amber-yellow widened as icy-blue orbs wandered into their line of sight. Zuko felt the sensations near his heart double and his breath stop. Sokka shook his head, trying to remember that this was ... well, what was the fire prince, after all? He would have to ask himself later, they'd already been staring for longer than they should have. "... I-Is that a _threat_?" asked Sokka as he shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Zuko winced as the sensations in his chest turned to pain, and he dealt with the pain in the only fashion he knew how by giving it to others.

"Yes," he hissed venomously, "it **IS**. Now, get your wimpy self and sister up and get ready. We're going outside."

Sokka felt his hands clench into fists when a smaller, gentle hand laid itself over his. Katara felt her brother's clenched fists relax and she let go of his hand. "Sokka," she whispered as the guards 'chained' their hands together, "we should at least make this easy if they're going to help us, so try not to fight with that prince guy until this is over." Sokka whined as he and Aang stood up.

"But Katara, he's a jerk!"

"How mature of you to notice," murmured Katara, rolling her eyes. Inside, Sokka was wondering what he'd been doing. Why hadn't he said something quicker than that? What were the feelings back there? Why did Zuko look at him like ... well, like he had? Sokka shook his head again as the guards led them out of the room and into the hallway. They passed through a few corridors while Sokka tried to forget the entire situation, and finally they reached the top of the ship. Aang's eyes widened.

"Wooooooow," he gasped, "I didn't know the Fire Nation was this pretty!"

Instead of the dark, fiery lands he'd imagined, thousands of trees with leaves red as blood covered the land as far as the eye could see, with the exception of an occasional sakura tree. Several dark black birds with sleek coal colored coats took flight, making caws that sounded like the discorded sharp notes on a harp. The people weren't all dark, tall, intimidating men either. In fact, a band of children in bright colors were playing near the docks they were approaching, several women giggling and waving at Zuko from the shore. Zuko didn't even spare them a glance as the ship made its way into the harbor. His eyes narrowed.

"Uncle," he mouthed, "we already have a problem."

Iroh looked to the docks and saw commander Zhao and two of his men awaiting them in the only open docking position. Iroh's eyes narrowed. Zhao's grin spread.

"I had this spot reserved just for you," he said with a slight sneer as Iroh and Zuko got off the ship, "I heard the rumor that you would be returning to switch ships, so I prepared some tea. Won't you spend the night at our camps? Your men can rest and drink and eat here."

The guards holding Aang and Sokka and Katara looked suspicious. "Isn't that the guy that beat Gun'nah (made up name, not OC) last time we were here?" Another guard nodded. "Yeah ... beat him for information about prince Zuko."

Katara swallowed nervously. There were harsh methods at work in this nation behind the smiles and beautiful landscapes.

"Thank you for your offer, but we have to transfer our supplies and cargo, so we'll pass this time." Zhao's eyes narrowed. "I insist, Iroh. It's been so long since we talked. Won't you join me for a cup of tea? I have Jasmine Tea, newly imported from the Earth country." Iroh's eyes widened and Zuko made a slight cough. The portly man looked slightly sad and refused Zhao once again. The commander glared, no longer attempting to hide his irritation. "I _insist_."

"And we refuse," said Iroh, turning away from Zhao altogether. "Come, Zuko. We have work to do." Zuko sent Zhao a glare before turning away to follow his uncle down the harbor. The men next to Zhao stepped forwards but Zhao put a hand in front of them.

"Let them leave," he said low enough so that the company leaving the boat didn't hear him, "we'll deal with his banished lowness later."

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Zuko had seen many ships in his life. He had seen good ships, peasant-made ships, grand ships that had cost much to build and more to maintain, ships that could steal silently across bays and harbors. But nothing compared to the majestic, sleek figure that lay low in the water. It was almost a submarine, with a very slim hull, but very thick and well armed. Fast, maneuverable, and armed.

A grin spread across his face.

_'I **like** this boat.'_

Iroh sweatdropped at the expression on his nephew's face.

"Zuko ..."

The prince shook his head, the expression disappearing from his face at once. "I-I'll start moving things on board with the men keep an eye out for Zhao and make sure that all our men stay with us and get back on board as fast as possible. I don't want to linger here too long." Iroh nodded in slight amusement as his nephew rushed off to follow the guards and 'prisoners' into the ship.

Inside the ship, it was compact but compromising. Zuko looked around and counted the rooms. There were just enough. He ordered some of the guards fill a few rooms with supplies and ordered another to split the remaining rooms between the guards. He himself and his uncle would occupy a better furnished room and the others (Aang, Sokka and Katara) could sleep in the prison cells. He searched the ship, scouting out a room for himself and his uncle.

Iroh boarded the ship as the last of the guards made it back with enough supplies to make the journey to their next stop. "Uncle," came Zuko's irritated voice, "finally. Are all the guards on board?"

"Yes, they are," confirmed Iroh, "how's the ship?"

"Fine. You designed this where are we going to sleep?"

"Here," said Iroh, opening a door. Zuko looked inside and frowned. "Uncle, this room is tiny and has four bunks. There are only two of us, and ..."

"Zuko, there are no better rooms in the entire ship," elaborated Iroh. "This boat was made for speed so there was no room for luxurious expansion of any kind. It was strictly for traveling. The design was pretty ingenious, if I do say so myself ..."

Another question came to Zuko. "I can't find the prison cells."

"Ah," said Iroh wisely, "your father and I decided that we wouldn't make a prisoner cell. We'd just lock the prisoners into a room with the guards and the guards would take turns watching them."

Zuko's face fell. "You're joking." Then, he straightened up as the guards leading their 'prisoners' around turned the corner. "Well," he said finally, "the guards aren't any match for an airbender and that idiot ..."

"_Hey_!"

"Sokka, that might have been a compliment," said Aang, "he did say they weren't any match for you ..." Sokka made a face.

"... but he called me an idiot!"

"... so the next best place would be ... to have them ... stay with us." Zuko slowly turned to look at Katata, Aang and Sokka. Iroh rose an eyebrow.

"We have three captives, Zuko. I'll stay some where else."

Zuko jumped. "Oh, no you don't! There is **no** way I'm sharing rooms with these three ... these ..." he searched for a demeaning word to describe them and failed, "There's no reason that **I** should have to watch all three of them!"

"Oh?" said Iroh. He knew how to push Zuko's buttons ... "Are you sure? Because if you can't handle two little boys and a little _girl_ ..."

A vein stood out on Zuko's forehead. "Two little boys and a little girl? Too much for me?" Iroh didn't say anything and Zuko fumed, glaring at Katara and Aang and Sokka. "You three! You're in there! Any funny business and I'll toss you overboard!" The guards ushered them in before they could protest and Iroh smiled.

"You should watch them for a while," he suggested, "I'll make sure we get a good start out of here before commander Zhao has the heart to _invite_ us to another of his tea parties." Zuko nodded and went into the room, shutting the door with a slam.

Katara jumped and fell back on a bunk bed. "Oh," she said with a giggle, "this is soft for such a small, cramped ship!"

"Get used to it," Zuko murmured, "these are our rooms."

"Wait a second," Sokka said, standing up, "did you say ... '_our_'?"

Zuko's eyes narrowed. "Yes," he hissed, "I did. Now move that's MY bunk." Aang jumped off the bottom of the bunk opposite to Katara and sat down on the mattress with a growl. Aang looked at the top bunk.

"I call tops for me and Katara," he called as he scrambled up to the top bunk. Katara laughed and followed him up as Sokka jumped. "Hey, wait, that means I'm stuck down here with "

He paused as Zuko looked up at him. The fire prince didn't say anything but his glare said enough. The piercing amber eyes that had captured his gaze before did it again, and the ice-eyed boy found himself unable to look away. Inside, Sokka felt his stomach squirming as Zuko kept a steady glare on him. To Aang and Katara, Sokka simply swallowed and dropped the sentence.

Aang grinned down at Sokka. "Don't worry," he said, "we'll still talk to you."

"This is kind of fun," admitted Katara, "it's like being at a camp." Sokka didn't seem too impressed.

The room was very small and cramped, hardly more than several feet high and some similar length wide. The bunks took up most of the room, but there was a passage between them. The bunks were directly above each other and the bottom bunks had curtains around them coming down from the bottom of the top bunks. Zuko grabbed these curtains around his bed and drew them shut with a clanking of metal coins. Sokka sighed and sat down on his own bunk, dragging the curtains shut around himself.

Aang, who would fall asleep in an earthquake, had already decided to test out the bed, and had fallen asleep. Katara was lying in her bed, looking at the ceiling, wondering about the places they would see while following the Avatar's directions. Sokka was wondering if they were going to serve them dinner or if they were going to have to wait until they reached the next country. Zuko was thinking about the odd pull he'd felt in his gut every time the dark-skinned boy locked gazes with him. All of their thoughts settled into the beginning of dreams as the ship slipped into the water and rocked them to sleep.

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All right, another chapter ... yeah. Hope you're all not mad at the speed I update, because it'll be fast and then slow and fast and then ... yeah.

**to reviewers:**

Thanks so much for reviewing ... I was gonna wait for 10 reviews per chapter, but I just can't wait ... yeah. Sorry if I go too slow/fast/whatever ... I'll update at my own pace, but I will update.

... just not during spring break b'c I'll be in LA and I have to work on Endless Blue and High School work.

yeah

... later ...


	8. Cold

_Author notes_: short fic, chapter 8, over seas ...

**Disclaimer**: don't own Avatar or Aang or Sokka or Katara or Zuko etc ... I will own any OCs, and I'll tell you who/what they are when/if I decide to use them ...

(A-hem ...)

uh ...

oh yea.

_Dear readers:_

sorry for not updating in forever. I had a real bad cough ... and I was sick ... in LA. Which sucked ... yeah. But I got to go to an Anime store ... it was awesome ... yeah. And so I wanted to say, one more time, this is a fic I'm doing in my spare time, which is beginning to dwindle ... yeah ... so if I update like a dying turtle (or snail) then it ain't my fault ... yeah. they need more Avatar episodes to get me inspired. And because I wanna know what happens next ... yeah.

Love,

Blue 1/2

(aka: xxfissshbonesssxx)

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_(A/N: Hey! look, a new kind of page break ...)_

Chapter 8: Cold

The fire nation was closest to the Air country, and it happened to be the next direction the company needed to travel in order to reach all four nations within the four days.

The fire nation was close, but it was still half a day's travel by boat. Zuko hoped that because Iroh wasn't checking up on him that he was somewhere on the deck, making the boat go faster. The fire prince himself didn't want to leave either of the pieces of the Avatar unguarded, and had therefore locked himself in the room with Sokka, Aang, and Katara. He spent the first few hours of dawn when none of the other occupants of the room were conscious to prepare himself mentally for whatever idiocy the other three might subject him to.

The first to wake up was Sokka, who rolled off his bed unceremoniously. By some miracle, the other two didn't wake up. "Ow ... that hurt," announced Sokka as he rolled over and sat up. Unfortunately, the first thing he saw was Zuko's unhappy face. With the threat of waking his sister and facing her wrath piled on top of what Zuko might do if he yelled, he clamped a hand over his mouth and his eye twitched. Zuko made a growl. Going along with the amazing streak of intelligence Sokka was having, he correctly assumed the following:

**Growl** '_say something and you DIE.'_

Sokka decided he wouldn't be talking much that morning.

When Zuko realized that Sokka had understood the meaning behind his growl, he leaned back against the wall of his bunk and crossed his arms over his chest to meditate.

Sokka blinked. Was it just him, or was it getting hot in the room? He looked down at the bed. '_There aren't any covers on me, and my clothing's not that heavy ...' _The temperature rose again. But the warmth had come in the form of a gently moving current of air, circulating and building within the room. _'Wait a minute ...'_ he looked across at the fire prince's relaxed face and realized that the heat was coming from **him**. Sokka blinked twice to make sure his eyes were right. _'There isn't any weird glow around him or anything ...'_ He frowned and he looked over Zuko more closely. The ice-blue eyes ran over Zuko's shoulders in search of some kind of fire. Then, unconsciously, he began to study the other boy. Prince Zuko was surely a prince, if not for his skills in fire bending, then for his looks. Besides the horrible scar across the left side of his face, there was little to be disappointed about. He still wore his red and maroon armor but from its size and the way it fit Zuko's body, Sokka could guess that there was very little left to be imagined. Curious blue eyes followed the outline of Zuko's shoulder guards down along his arms, then down the curve of his waist to the legs that were crossed (indian-style). The heat in the room had calmed, as if distracted. There was a slight cough. Sokka's eyes widened.

"So ..." Ice blue eyes met slanted amber. "... how long were you planning on staring at me?" Sokka choked. "I-I was not staring!"

"Liars stutter."

Sokka flushed and used the insult as a springboard to avoid answering the question. "I don't need to lie. Nobody would stare at YOU if you PAID them." Zuko's good eye narrowed but Sokka didn't back down. He met the other boy's gaze with a challenge of his own, and they froze for a moment as their eyes met again.

_A wise man once said, 'To hide a tree, one must use a forest,' ... _

After a long second, they tore their gazes away at the same time, casting their eyes on other things as the ship began to slow. They were at the Air country.

_... but what to use to hide emotions?_

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op.s

_(A/N: Due to lack of knowledge and time, I cannot include much about this stop. It is very brief and used for developing SokkaZuko. Sorry.)_

o.ps

Aang jumped off of the ship with a whoop that sent the birds scattering. "AAAALLLLLLLL RIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!" Katara laughed as the guards let her and Sokka go. Zuko held a hand over his squinted eyes. "Are you sure this is the right place, Uncle?" asked the irritated teenager as his Iroh stepped up beside him. The portly man nodded.

"I am sure, Prince Zuko. Now, I looked at the cabins on board ..." The two fire benders went off into a discussion while Aang and Sokka ran at the large palm trees on the edge of the beach near the forest. Katara walked more slowly behind her brother and the bald monk.

"Slow down you two! Sokka, watch out for--"

**WHAM**

The blue-eyed boy was on his back in the sand. There was distinct laughter from the guards getting off the ship and a familiar laugh from a 12-year-old monk and an annoying younger sister. Speaking of younger sisters ... "Katara?" His sister ran over to his side, her face displaying concern instead of the humor he'd expected. "You're not hurt, are you?" He accepted her hand up but winced and looked down at his leg discreetly. _'No blood,'_ he thought as he tapped it against the sand, a sharp pain lacing the muscle, _'but it's no good for running ...'_

Katara let out a sigh. "Good. You look like you'll be ok." Then, she turned and ran over to Aang, who was air bending coconuts out of the trees, along with half of the palm leaves. Sokka watched the guards laugh at Aang who got hit in the head by an especially large coconut and ducked behind a tree. He shuffled through his clothes and pulled out the medical supplies he kept close to his heart.

_'Gotta do this right,' _he thought as he unstuck the tape and began carefully wrapping his leg carefully so the muscle wouldn't be disturbed from the healing process unless it was hit hard. A few moments later he was done and he swept the garbage into his shirt and folded it so it wouldn't make any noise. He heard someone approaching and crossed one leg over the other, leaning back against the trunk of the tree with shut eyes as if he was asleep.

When the guards came through the bush, they paused and whispered among themselves, "it's just him. He's asleep, even." Then, they kept on going, obviously scouting for something to eat. There was a shout from the ship and the guards paused but then moved on. Sokka waited until he was sure they'd gone a good distance before he blinked his eyes open, a facade of drawing himself out of a nap. He hopped on his feet, stretched, and ran into a very unhappy fire prince. Zuko growled and Sokka jumped back. "You!"

Zuko's eyes narrowed and he barked out an order. "Come with me." Sokka's pride took a blow but he silently followed the slightly older boy back onto the beach.

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Katara and Aang were talking with Iroh like he was their long-lost grandfather when Sokka and Zuko returned. Aang's eyes were wide as plates as Katara giggled. "So, the Fire Lord's name is really **George**? Man, I woulda never known!" Iroh laughed but covered with a cough as Zuko's eyes narrowed. Sensing a fight, Katara stood up and looked at Sokka.

"Sokka, there's a small problem. The ship is probably the fastest in the seas, and the rooms can hold us all, but ..."

Sokka frowned. He didn't like where this was going.

"... but they're in desperate need of cleaning. It'll take the rest of the night for half the guards to clean it up. The room we got was evidently the cleanest one, and it wasn't that great. Some of the rooms were so full of junk that a few people had to sleep sitting up on the floor." Sokka _really_ didn't like where this was going.

"So we're sleeping off the ship tonight."

Zuko gave a snarl. Sokka held his jaw up. _'So that's what the shout was about.'_

Katara smiled sheepishly. "Anyway, we're going to camp here for tonight. Aang and I are going to help Iroh-uncle with the tents and camp supplies along with a few other guards. We were hoping that you and him could meet up with the other guards and get enough food for all of us?" Zuko and Sokka's eyes widened and they burst out at the same time.

"Me? Hunt with HIM!" They blinked and glared at each other. "I can hunt better than you! NO you can't!"

Katara stared. Aang laughed. Iroh smiled. "It's settled then. Katara and young Aang can help me here with camp, and you, Prince Zuko, can take this young man and escort the hunting party up ahead."

Without the energy or dignity to argue with his uncle on such a stupid topic, Zuko stormed off, Sokka grudgingly a step behind him.

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A few hours later, the hunting party returned to a small camp with several four-man tents and two two-men tents. The hunting party consisted of one guard carrying an assortment of fruits and berries, another guard carrying mushrooms, flowers, and herbs, and a third guard carrying two rabbits. Zuko had a young fawn on his shoulders and two rabbits slung over his neck. Sokka had a boar under one arm and two huge birds under the other. Both boys were glaring daggers at the other.

Katara, being the only girl, gave a few of the guards quick cooking lessons in case they had to stop for food of this kind any other time. Iroh had a large iron pot up and lit several large fires. Before long, there was a bubbling pork stew, roast pheasant and rabbit, and well-done deer meat available to eat. Katara also rationed out a healthy amount of berries and nuts and herbs to each member of the crew. She grew increasingly popular for her ability to make regular meat taste like ambrosia with a few herbs and spices made from scratch.

Zuko glared down at his stew. "How is it?" The scared prince looked up. "What?" Sokka repeated his question. "How is the soup?"

The black-haired prince looked down at his bowl. "It's good."

Sokka blinked. "You ... you're not gonna ..." Zuko frowned up at the other boy. "Look, just because **you** can cook doesn't mean I'm going to insult what's perfectly fine-tasting food." He lifted another spoonful to his mouth and then looked up at the other boy.

"Why are you still here?"

"E-Everywhere else is taken," Sokka said softly, looking at the space beside Zuko with soft blue eyes. Zuko choked on his stew, something in his chest pounding. Then, everything continued as normal and he shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Whatever. Just ... be quiet." Sokka didn't say anything but grumbled about a bad attitude and began to take spoonfuls of his own cooking. Zuko was sitting near the furthest fire from the rest of the guards who were beginning to clean up and get ready for sleep. Not only that, but the sun was beginning to set. It was getting cold. The truth was, there was plenty of space left to sit. Zuko saw the spaces next to his uncle and some of the other guards, but Sokka had chosen to sit next to **him**. He'd singled him out. Part of Zuko argued that it was because the dark-skinned boy knew him more so than any of the guards or Iroh, even if he disliked him. '_But_ The other part of him wondered if it was because Sokka preferred his company. Zuko shook his head and took another spoonful of his soup, nearing the bottom of his bowl.

_'No! There is no reason that he'd prefer me over ... well, I think I'd rather sit with him than that girl or the Avatar ... the monk ...' _He shook his head. _'But that doesn't have anything to do with ... whether or not he prefers **my** company ...' _Furiously, he shook his head.

"You sure do shake your head a lot," Sokka said conversationally. Zuko got up to give his empty bowl to his uncle, leaving Sokka to eat his soup alone by a dwindling fire.

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Sokka's eyes widened. "You're kidding."

Zuko shot him a glance. "I don't 'kid'."

"I'm really sorry," said Katara, trying to get their attention, "but there aren't any more places to sleep. Half the guards took up all the four-men tents while you were arguing, the other half are going to switch out near midnight, and Aang booked the two-man tent for men and him, so ..." Sokka and Zuko continued to argue as if Katara had never spoken.

"There is no WAY I'm sharing a tent with you!"

"Agreed," said Zuko immediately, "you may sleep on the beach."

"What! I'll freeze! **You** should sleep outside, **you're** a fire bender!"

"You're from the South Pole! You should sleep outside!"

"Both of you, settle down," called Iroh from the tent he was sharing with three other guards, "Prince Zuko, Sokka, rest up. It's just a tent. There are at least separate places to sleep. Good night!" With that, he disappeared into the tent. Zuko stared after his uncle as Sokka scrambled inside to call first dibs on what he considered to be the warmer bed. Katara left the stupefied fire prince staring as Aang called her back to their tent. Pulling himself together, Zuko ducked into the tiny tent and began to strip off his armor.

"Hey!" Sokka called as Zuko threw his shoulder guards at his head. "Watch where you're throwing things!"

Zuko didn't reply as he stripped off his shirt and turned to face the other boy. Sokka blinked as Zuko thrust a finger at him. "Listen, you. I don't want any trouble. I want to get through this one night, and then I want to get back to the ship. Don't talk, don't snore, don't breathe loud. If I'm woken up in the middle of the night for anything other than natural reasons ..." He let Sokka's imagination play with the idea of what might befall him as he folded the dark red blanket over his chest and shut his eyes. Sokka drew his own covers over himself and shut his eyes and tried to sleep.

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Prince Zuko was a warrior. His skills included fighting, a few different languages, intelligence and common sense, self-awareness, stealth, light sleeping, strength, stargazing, light breathing and walking, a good judge of character, and fire bending. He knew his skills very well, and knew what to expect from his body in the sense of reaction time.

So he knew that when he was jolted awake by something bumping into his back, his hand would slide the dagger hidden at his side out of its sheath in the time it took to assess the situation, which was always about .5 seconds.

This time was no different. Zuko's eyes widened, a natural reaction that he would have expected had he previously been awake. Simultaneously, his hand traveled to his waist to draw his dagger as his eyes swiveled to the cause of his waking. By the time he realized who it was, he had the knife pressed to the side of Sokka's throat.

By some miracle, the other boy remained asleep, blissfully unaware of their akward position. Zuko lay facing him, one arm at his wrist the other gripping the knife at his throat. Sokka's head was tilted towards Zuko's chest. The fire prince's eyes widened and then twitched in annoyance though a blush spread across his features. "Fool ..." He sighed and sheathed the dagger silently and turned over to sleep again. Sokka inched forwards and bumped into Zuko's back. The irritated teenager flipped over and shoved the other boy off him. Sokka gave an unintellegent mumble and squirmed closer to Zuko's body. The amber-eyed boy glared.

"Stay over _there_!" He shoved Sokka away again, only to have the shorter boy squirm back towards him.

Irritated, the older boy sat up to wake him up. Then, Zuko realized why Sokka was so intent on being close. The air felt like ice on his skin, the warmth of his blanket absent and allowing the icy breath of the island to nip at his skin. He gave a hiss and got back down on the blanket and drew it over himself again. Sokka edged closer in his sleep, an unconscious effort to warm himself. Zuko was about to wake the other boy and tell him to get more blankets when he looked at the other boy. He was shaking. Badly.

_'... idiot ...' _

Shaking his head (for the bazillionth time), Zuko allowed Sokka to move closer to him and shut his eyes. The other boy snuck a hand onto his bare shoulder and he gasped--Sokka's skin was cold. Very cold. He took the blanket off his shoulders and threw it over the both of them and then focused on creating a wave of warmth that would spread through the blanket. Soon, the blanket was very comfy, and Zuko began to feel very drowsy. _'But this won't last,' _he thought as Sokka allowed Zuko to pull away, content with his warm blanket,_ 'I'm the only thing that provides constant heat ... once that's cold, he'll come crawling back over here.'_

He shifted into a position where Sokka wouldn't wake him up if he wanted to get closer and shut his eyes to sleep.

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"Hmm ..."

_'Oooh ... warm. So warm.'_ Sokka snuggled up to whatever was so warm, not noticing that it jumped._ 'Wow ... this is nice ...'_

Suddenly, he was being kicked onto his back, covers torn from him. "OW!" Sokka looked up, rubbing his neck, and then glared at the irritated fire prince.

"Enjoy your snuggle time?" asked Zuko with a glare. Sokka blinked. "Huh? What the heck do you mean?" Zuko didn't respond and stormed out of the tent, throwing on his armor. Sokka stared after him. "Weird." Then, it hit him.

Katara and Aang were helping Iroh pick up the tents when Sokka's voice exploded from the tent next to them.

"WHAAAATT?"

Aang covered his ears and Katara glanced at Iroh. The old man looked at Zuko for an explanation and the fire prince shrugged.

After Sokka was extracted from the tent and taken back on ship, the ship took off on its next course. Zuko met up with Iroh on the deck. The older man was staring at the waters that they were beginning to travel.

"Uncle ..."

"Yes, Prince Zuko?"

"We're supposed to keep this 'visit' to the different nations down to a day. This will be the most difficult ... the Earth Country will not easily accept a Fire Nation ship into their harbors."

Iroh sighed. "I know. Where we're going, I would be surprised if we could even land and keep it peaceful for a day." Zuko's eyes narrowed. Iroh looked up, noticing his nephew's lack of response. The clouded gaze he was holding gave Iroh a pretty good idea that there was something important he was trying to figure out. The old man grinned as Zuko noticed he had spaced out.

"Is something on your mind?"

The Fire Prince jumped and shook his head a little too quickly in protest. "N-No ..."

"Liars stutter, Prince Zuko." informed his uncle cheerfully as he strode back down to the control rooms.

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end

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All right, another chapter ... yeah. Hope you're all not mad at the speed I update, because it'll be fast and then slow and fast and then ... yeah. Hope the content made up for lots of lateness, but I've got AP exams coming up ... yeah ... gotta study now ... now how do you study ...

**to reviewers:**

Thanks for not forgetting me ... yeah. I will update the story ... slowly ... but i will update. sorry this chap took so long. I was kinda sick ... yeah ...

later

Oh, one more thing ...

I've got AP exams. ExamS. Plural. Therefore I have very little time to ... study! Study.

Uh, so ... in leu of exam(S), I have very little time to work on this ... or any other ... story. Sorry.

Thanks for understanding. Yeah ...


	9. Impermeable

**_Author notes_:** chapter 9, going to the earth country ... Uh, sorry for the extremely long wait ... I'm done with AP exams now, and I have a load of free times. I should update quicker.

**Disclaimer**: don't own Avatar or Aang or Sokka or Katara or Zuko etc ... I will own any OCs, and I'll tell you who/what they are when/if I decide to use them ...

**Note**: (Prompted by Tsamoka's review) This is a shonen-ai (possibly yaoi) fic, and there _has_ _been_ and _will_ _be_ SokkaZuko. I'm sorry if this offends you, morally or otherwise. I know in the anime (on TV) that Sokka is NOT portrayed as 'gay', and neither is prince Zuko, but as soon as I saw them fight in the second episode, something clicked. Besides, this is a FAN fiction. FICTION. It's not a true replication of the characters on Sokka or Zuko's part, as neither of them would consider this kind of thing, however, for my enjoyment and the enjoyment of some others out there, I am bending their personalities to fit this story. I am once again sorry if this offends you.

Wow ... I don't like getting all serious like that above. Yeah... well, whatever. Read on ...

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_(A/N: Hey! look, a new kind of page break ...)_

Chapter 9: Impermeable

Breathe ... Deep breath in, deep breath out. Zuko felt the small fire sigh as it flared outward and then back in, flowing back and forth like the tides. Concentrating, he pulled the fire up from the candle and formed a halo in midair. The circle of fire rotated around, then detached and formed a small, dragon-like tongue of flame that dove around the air, hissing. Zuko kept his eyes shut. Sound guided him. Complete silence made it possible for him to tell where the walls were, and so he could form the tiny flickering tongue of flame in mid-air like a snake or dragon. Opening his eyes, he visually guided the tiny stream of flame back to the wick and the flame returned to a raindrop-shaped fire perched atop the candle. Zuko like the silence. With it, he could concentrate and focus and--

"Prince Zuko!"

Zuko's concentration snapped and the candle hissed up into a miniature torch and flickered into smoke.

"**WHAT**?"

The guard at his door blanched and backed away from the door a bit. "Uh, well, uh, your Uncle! That is, he says you should come to the deck!"

The fire prince glowered and then opened his door to reveal an empty hallway. The guard had wisely vacated the area and Zuko punched a wall. The ship groaned and Zuko stormed up to the deck. His uncle was waiting for him.

"What is it?"

The portly man pointed to the horizon. "We're just half an hour away from the Earth country. We have half an hour to think up a good reason for them to let us dock, or take a three-hour route around and follow a black market trade line to hidden shores a few hundred miles from the capital."

Zuko crossed his arms. "How are we in fuels and supplies?"

Iroh gave a shrug. "We should make our visit here as brief as possible. Our directions were to go to the four nations, fire, air, earth, and water, and then on the fifth day, set sail for an island. We have been to the fire and air nations. Our best course of action would be to stop, let the avatar put his feet on the ground, and then get headed to the water nation, which is further south. Depending on the way we ration it, we should be able to make it to the water nations with minimal supplies and plenty of fuel left ... but it is always good to be prepared for-"

"Thank you," said Zuko curtly, cutting his uncle off, "I've made my decision. We'll have to go direct to the earth country. I'll escort the two who NEED to go on land out in a smaller boat, and then we'll circle back and meet you in the second location you mentioned. If we take more than a day, come for us." Iroh nodded and then smiled.

"Your decisions are wise, Zuko," he said proudly, "and I will wait only a day." The two fire benders went below the deck, Iroh to inform the crew of their plans and Zuko to check on the 'prisoners'.

The teenage fire bender opened the door to their room and was met with a chorus of 'ssssh!' from two dark-skinned siblings. Zuko blinked and joined in watching Aang perform some kind of trick with air and marbles. Katara and Sokka clapped as Aang got the silvery marbles spinning in a circle, and Zuko's eye twitched. The monk grinned and caught the marbles, passing them on to Sokka. The older boy took a deep breath and concentrated, and one by one the marbles floated clumsily into the air. Zuko looked on in slight surprise. "That's right, a little more," Aang was encouraging, "good! That's good, Sokka! Now try spinning them!" Sokka frowned. "I don't know. The last time--"

"Come on," pleaded Katara, "you got it spinning for five seconds! Try for ten!" Sokka sighed and stared at the marbles. One by one, they moved in a slow, calculated circle. Sokka frowned, concentrating as hard as he could. Then, the marbles that had been slowly circulating sped up and Katara ducked as they flew out like bullets, five PINGs ringing out through the room. Zuko held up his hands as a marble headed his way and smacked him on the shoulder. Aang and Sokka blinked and grinned sheepishly. "Ah haha haha ... ha ... ah, sorry." Zuko glared around the room.

"I just came in here to let you two know that we can't chance staying in the earth nation long. Our ship is too conspicuous. We'll have to take a smaller boat and go into harbor under a disguise."

Katara frowned. "Aren't I coming?"

Zuko shook his head. "Can't," he said curtly, moving further back into his bunk, "we're going to set our feet down and then we're meeting my uncle at a different location."

Katara's eyes narrowed. "What's all this trouble with the earth nation?" She asked uncertainly, "I don't see why I can't go."

Zuko frowned and crossed his arms. "Listen, Katara. I'm taking Aang and Sokka out to the earth country. I'm going to make sure they don't run off. If you came along, you'd only cause problems. You have to stay here." Katara frowned. "But ..." Then she stared at Zuko. The fire prince blinked.

"W-what? What are you staring for?"

"You ... You used our names," Katara said slowly, and Aang's eyes widened. "That's right! You used our names!" Sokka grumbled and crossed his arms. "Good. After chasing us around, he finally learns who we are." Zuko refused to reply to any of the rest of their banter and shut his eyes. "We're leaving in fifteen minutes. Get your stuff together and then we'll get on board." Katara frowned and dashed out of the room. Aang looked at the door.

"I think you hurt her feelings, Zuko," he said, "I'm gonna go find her." He padded out of the room, and Sokka rose an eyebrow at the other boy.

"You're really socially challenged, y'know that, Zuko?"

"It's **Prince** Zuko to you," Zuko grunted in reply.

"Ah! Yes! Of _course_, your majesty."

"Shut up."

Fifteen minutes later, Aang had returned, saying that Katara had locked herself in a room and wasn't coming out until they came back. "It's fine by me," said Zuko with a shrug as he showed Aang and Sokka the way to the only extra vessel on board. Iroh was there to meet them. "Only three of you? Very well. Prince Zuko, we will meet you in a day at the Southern shores. Remember, earth nation warriors patrol the shorelines nowadays, and it will be difficult to dock without running into them. You and these two should wear a disguise just in case." Zuko looked at Sokka and Aang. There wasn't much suspicious about their clothing when looked at indivdually, but together they looked rather odd. Zuko supposed it would be for the best and shrugged. "Fine. What extra clothing do we have?" Iroh waved a hand at the three guards behind him who extended three different sets of clothing. Zuko picked the second outfit, Aang the first, and Sokka the third. They changed out their shirts and pants quickly as the smaller ship was lowered into the water. Iroh called out to Zuko one last time as the boat hit the waters and began to move away from the main ship. "Remember! This is the earth nation! If you fire bend, they will take you captive. Be cautious." Zuko nodded and turned away from the boat.

Aang jumped on the deck, laughing and hovering for a few seconds each time, his dark green short-sleeved shirt lifting and falling with each bound. The air pushed his ankle-length black pants up as he fell. (Aang is wearing green shirt and black pants) Sokka grabbed his wrist on the way down. "Aang, don't air bend while we're in the earth nation."

Aang frowned. "Why not?"

"And I thought you were a complete idiot," mused Zuko before Sokka could tell him, "It's because the only known air bender is the Avatar. If either of you pull any bending stunts, it's likely to draw unwanted attention. We'll dock, possibly get some food for appearance's sake, and then get out of here. The sooner we get away from the earth nation, the better."

"Why?"

Aang, Sokka, and Zuko looked around. "Huh?" Aang jogged over to the small cabin on the boat and peeked inside. Blue eyes stared up at him with a guilty grin.

"Katara! What are you doing on board?"

The female water bender came out of the cabin, not looking at her brother's surprised face or Zuko's annoyed look. "I really want to see the earth country. I won't be much trouble. Promise." Zuko crossed his arms. "There's not much of a choice now. I don't have time to go back and turn you in. You'll have to stay on the ship."

"Oh, let her come with us!" pleaded Aang with a bright smile, "If Katara can't come, then you can't make me go to the earth country."

Zuko narrowed his eyes and glowered, but didn't disagree. Aang laughed and hugged Katara, who smiled and cast her gaze to the quickly approaching land mass. The small ship was quick and lithe, and she guessed it wouldn't be long before they made land. Which brought her back to the question which had gotten her discovered. "Zuk... Prince Zuko?" asked Katara as Aang let her go, "Why were you saying that you didn't want to stay on the earth nation?" Zuko looked on ahead to the approaching island. "The earth and fire nations don't have the best relations. Leave it at that." He refused to speak with any of them for the rest of the short trip.

Sokka and Katara watched the earth nation grow closer. "Katara, we're going to get some food from a local restaurant and then we're getting out of here. I'm not one to jump to conclusions about the natives, but I think the sooner we get this trip over with, the sooner we can get Aang back on track to mastering those elements and saving the world. Remember that trip?" Katara nodded. "Yeah. I'm really looking forwards to getting back to Appa and Momo. I hope they're ok."

Sokka gave an exasperated sigh and waved his hands. "Sure, worry about the ten hundred pound flying bison, not the normal human being ..."

Katara looked over at him. "But you're not."

The dark-skinned boy frowned and looked at her. "Not what?"

"Not _normal_," clarified Katara with a smile, "Now, you're an earth bender. And a fire bender, and even an air bender like Aang! You're no where _close_ to normal, Sokka." The boy gave a groan. "That's right! Man ..." Katara patted his back while he sulked, the earth nation just minutes away.

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Kumo looked up at the horizon. "Another ship's coming in," he called to the earth benders behind him. The green-clad warriors hid behind barrels on the dock as the small ship drew nearer. The thirty-year-old man sighed. Fifteen years. Fifteen years since the earth nation warriors had taken to keeping an eye on these ports. Of course, it was the most convenient spot for fire-nation spies to slip through, so he couldn't really blame them for being suspicious. As the small boat drew near, he could see the faces of two small children, chinese-looking. He tapped his foot on the dock to signal that the boat was just moments away from docking. As the craft was tied down, Kumo called out to the captain. A man about forty or so looked over the side of the ship, waving at him.

"Ahoy!" he called with a grin, "We're comin' down now!" A plank lowered from the side of the ship and the man stepped out with the two smaller children. The man was clothed in dark red with black pants that only just came past his knees. The two children at his sides were similarly garbed in red and black, but the boy's pants and the girl's skirt reached their ankles. The man met Kumo and shook his hand.

"Thanks a bunch," he said with a sigh, "I was hoping to find someone who knew the area. I need to find someone who can take me to the lord of this land. I'm from Dan-sei ..."

Before the man could say any more, three green-clad blurs shot into view and two grabbed his arms while the other took the children at his side. The man yelled and Kumo looked away as one of the earth nation warriors smacked him. "From Dan-sei, eh? That's a port in the fire nation!" The man tried to speak but was hit again. "You don't need to talk. You're going to be in prison for a while, so save your breath." They walked away as three more guards approached from the road that led into town. The guards nodded at each other as they passed.

Kumo held his head. Another innocent man and children taken captive. What was he doing? For years, he had been letting them take people from this port, thinking that they were actually looking at differences between what was a spy from the fire nation and who wasn't. Obviously, they weren't. If that man were a spy, he would've come alone with a better disguise. He sighed. "The next ship ..."

"What about the next ship?" asked an earth nation warrior. "Don't worry about it, Kumo. We'll make sure those fire nation spies don't get through your port." Kumo nodded in thanks but in his head, he finished the sentence. _'the passengers on the next ship **will** make it to town.'_

It wasn't long before the next ship was in sight. As usual, Kumo announced it to the warriors with a tap of his foot. The earth benders hid behind barrels, just like last time. However, the people on this ship didn't look suspicious at all. Which made everyone relax a bit. None of them were wearing red; in fact, most of them were wearing green or black except the one girl on board who was wearing what looked like a traditional Southern-style water tribe dress. What looked like her older brother was garbed in a turquoise shirt and green pants that almost covered his shoes. Next to him was an excited pale-skinned boy with a broad-rimmed straw hat over his head. Then, there was a boy with a terrible scar across one side of his face, wearing a black long-sleeved shirt that was loose on his arms and green pants. When the boat hit the dock, he was the first on the wooden planks.

Kumo ran up to him. "Oh, oh, welcome! Welcome. Can I help you, sir?" The boy looked slightly surprised that someone would so quickly greet them but answered politely. "Yes, in fact you can. I'm here with a few of my cousins and we were hungry. Do you know where we can find a place to eat?"

"Yes! Why, there's a town just down the road that has a marketplace that sells wonderful ..." Kumo was cut off as one of the earth benders stepped out from behind his hiding place. The boy just rose his good eyebrow and then turned back to Kumo. "You were saying something about a market place?" he asked. Kumo smiled. "Yes. There's a ..."

"Who are you?" The man clad in green armor stepped forwards, pushing Kumo aside and glaring straight into the boy's face. "What's your name? Where are you from? It's not many people that come to this port without good reason." The three others were getting off the boat. The dark-skinned boy walked up beside the pale boy and crossed his arms over his chest. "What's this about? Is this any way to treat visitors?" The man frowned. "You're strangers here, boy, not visitors, until you tell us your names and business in this port."

"My name's Sokka. This is my sister, Katara, and my cousin, Damien, and his younger brother Sanji." Aang and Zuko glanced at each other. Brothers? Well, they both had pale skin ... The earth bender seemed to buy it and moved on to another question. "Well, why are you all here?"

"For food," said Aang (who I shall call Sanji for a short time) as Sokka's stomach gave a rumble. The dark-skinned boy put a hand to his stomach. "All right," grumbled the warrior, glowering, "where are you from?"

"Handare," said Zuko (who I shall call Damien for a while).

"It's a village on the northern side of the water country," said Katara to the guard.

The man's eyes narrowed, for a while it seemed like he was considering the validity of their answer, and then he nodded. "Well, it's good to see some real visitors!" he said grudgingly, a strained smile crossing his face, "Kumo, take these youngsters to town and see that they're fed. And keep an eye on them." The four followed the green-clad man off the dock and down the dirt road, away from the three earth benders.

"You're very lucky," Kumo said to Damien as the boy walked beside him, "earth nation warriors have been taking anyone suspicious captive. They're held in their base camp, just a walk away from my dock. I've lived here since my mother died, and some time ago these earth nation warriors have come and have taken anyone who comes in through this port captive." Damien didn't say anything. Kumo looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "Stop me if this is too personal ... but did a fire bender give you that scar?"

The entire company stopped walking. Kumo smiled. "Too personal. I apologize for my rudeness. Town's just a while along this road. I'll go back to the dock. When you come back, don't say anything about benders of any sort. Any talk of that kind will get you arrested." He smiled and turned around.

"Hey, wait!" Kumo turned around. "Hmm?" Sanji bounced back to him, tipping his straw hat back to reveal wide, curious eyes and a big smile. "What's your name? You're nice." Kumo chuckled. "Call me Kumo. I hope you'll find a safe time here, Sanji. Take care of yourself. You too, Sokka, Damien." He waved and walked off down the road, chuckling softly. "Kids ..."

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"Sokka?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you only change Aa ... Sanji and Damien's names?" asked Katara before spooning more soup into her mouth. They'd found the first restruant they could and ordered soup, noodles, and salads for all of them. Sokka looked at Damien and Sanji. "I thought that the name 'Zuko' might ring a bell. Damien is a more common name, and so I thought you wouldn't be recgonized right away as a fire bender for your name." The other teenager paused the chopsticks on the way to his mouth and looked at Sokka. The dark skinned boy was busy putting half of his salad into one side of his mouth and talking to Sanji at the same time. "And ... I didn't want ... YOU ... to get mphmested (arrested), Sangee ..." Sokka swallowed, clearing his throat and turning his attention back to his sister, "... and I didn't change our names because they're not suspicious. Are they?"

"I guess not," said Katara, scooping up the last of her soup. Sokka pushed away a clean plate as Sanji downed the last of his drink. Damien folded his napkin and stood up. "Let's get going. We've stayed long enough." They made their way through the few people that were on the streets, most smiling at the strangers as they hurried to the dirt path that would take them back to Kumo and their boat.

"That was easy!" called Aang as he tossed his straw hat in the air. Zuko caught the hat and pulled it down onto Aang's head. "Keep this on until we're out of here," he growled, "I don't want us getting caught and delayed." Aang frowned but kept the hat on his head.

"Oh, wait! I forgot something," Katara said suddenly, jumping and dashing back towards the town, "I'll be right back. Aa--Sanji, come with me, I don't remember where I left it ..." The monk shot off down towards the town with Katara and Sokka crossed his arms over his chest. The fire prince cleared his throat but was silent for a while. A minute passed before he actually spoke.

"So ..."

Sokka looked at Zuko. "Hm?"

"... who's Damien?" Sokka blinked. "Huh?" he asked thickly. Zuko's good eye narrowed. "I mean, who is Damien? Is it just a name you chose out of the blue?" Sokka nodded. "Yeah, sure, why?" Zuko's intense interest disappeared and he gave a hollow, 'ah,' and was quiet.

Ten minutes later, Zuko looked up. Sokka was ready to say something to break the silence when the look on Zuko's face stopped him. He turned and followed the prince's line of sight and frowned. Why was Aang running at them? Without Katara? The monk was shouting something and running as fast as he could without air bending.

"...ook Katara, they took Katara!"

"**WHAT**?"

Aang came skidding to a halt in front of them, panting and wheezing. Sokka grabbed his shoulders. "Aang, what happened!"

"She left her water canteen! And then she wanted to fill it up, so she used some water bending to get water out of a near by barrel, and then these big guys in green took her!"

"What? Why didn't you stop them!"

"I _tried_!" Sokka suddenly realized that there were tears rolling down the side of Aang's face. "I didn't want to use air bending because we're not supposed to, but they took her, I couldn't stop them! I couldn't save her! Katara's in trouble, and it's my fault!" Sokka took the smaller boy in his arms and Aang sobbed into his shoulder, shaking. He patted his back as Zuko thought. "Come on, Aang," said Sokka softly, "it'll be ok. Look, it's not all your fault. She probably wasn't thinking. Water bending is natural for her, like picking up a jacket before you go outside in the cold." Aang's tears were slowing down. "That's better. Now, look. We know where she is, remember?"

"And we know who can give us a more exact location," said Zuko, surprising Aang and Sokka. Aang wiped his eyes and nodded. "Kumo."

"Right. We have less than twenty four hours to get her out of there and get going to the water nation," said Zuko as Sokka stood Aang on his feet, "if they know she's a water bender, we'll have to sneak in. They won't let us see her on the premise of being related, but remember what you told that one guard, Sokka, just in case we need it. We'll find Kumo and see where they're holding your sister." Sokka looked to the amber-eyed boy with a soft smile. "Thanks, Zuko." The prince scoffed.

"It's _still_ Prince Zuko to you," he grumbled as they started running towards the dock, ignoring the warmth rising to his face.

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end

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Well, now Katara's causing trouble, getting herself kidnapped. Hopefully, everyone else will keep their cool and we won't get earth nation peoples following them ... yeah ... uh, and we'll get to that island soon ... if we don't have to start over.

**to reviewers:**

thanks for keeping up with me, even though this isn't my main priority right now. It's becoming more and more important as you review and review again. For ever familiar name, I get kinda motivated all over again ... yeah ... so thanks. Please keep making me feel like I'm loved.

later


	10. Walls

**_Author notes_:** chapter 10.

**Disclaimer**: don't own Avatar or Aang or Sokka or Katara or Zuko etc ... I will own any OCs, and I'll tell you who/what they are when/if I decide to use them ...

I was at Camp Crystal Lake for 7 days, about 10 miles away from a computer, then in LA for 10 days, in the same condition at my aunt's house. Please forgive my lateness.

I went through a short period of computer withdrawal, and looked at the real world.

It's full of plastic surgery, high gas prices, hurricanes, and sharks at the moment.

It scared me back to my computer screen.

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**Chapter 10: Walls**

Kumo sat on the dock, looking at the small boat that the four children had arrived in. _'I wonder where they went,'_ he mused to himself, _'the guards will be back soon, and they might not be able to get off this dock!'_ He frowned. "No. This time, I'll stand up to those earth bender bullies! Yes!" He jumped to his feet and spun around.

"I won't be pushed around by them anymore!"

"By who?"

Kumo jumped as he realized that there were three figures approaching from the dirt road. Quickly, Aang (the person who'd shouted), Sokka, and Zuko's forms became visible as they came to a stop in front of him. The older man rose an eyebrow as Sokka and Aang panted, out of breath. "What were you youngsters runnin' from?"

"Do you know where they hold other kinds of benders?" asked Zuko impaitently. Kumo frowned. "Where's your other friend?"

"Answer me old man," growled Zuko. Kumo put a hand on his chin. "I coulda sworn there were four of yo--"

Zuko grabbed his collar. "Tell us if you know where they hold prisoners on this ugly slab of land!" Kumo's eyes widened and Sokka shoved the other teenager, breaking his grip on Kumo's shirt. "Hey, cool it!" Zuko growled but didn't make another grab for the older man's shirt. Sokka turned to Kumo with a calm but rushed voice. "We need to find out if there's a prison camp anywhere. My sister's been taken prisoner."

Kumo's eyes widened. "Oh! That's why you're all worked up. Well, I've only seen it once, but I'm pretty sure I can still remember where it was--"

"Good," Zuko cut in, crossing his hands over his chest, "let's find her and get out of here. Lead the way, old man." Kumo frowned at Zuko's lack of manners or tact, but pointed out the correct way straight into the forest off the beaten dirt path.

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"Uhn ..."

Katara rolled over, her cheek against something cool and dusty. She frowned to herself as she blinked her eyes open to the darkness of a dank, underground cell. Iron bars barred the entrance to her square cell, which she had been thrust onto the floor of instead of the slab of stone that obviously was meant to be a bed of some kind. She shook her head, some small pebbles and dirt falling from her shoulders and the side of her head. She tried to move a hand to push back her bangs and found them bound. Katara sighed and sat up, hands bound.

_'All right, let's think,' _she thought calmly, _'I'm probably here because I did water bending. That's understandable. Aang and Sokka will be looking -- and **Prince** Zuko, almost forgot about **him** -- they'll all be looking for me. If I don't want to be a burden more than I already am ...'_

The first thing she would have to do was regain the use of her hands. Grunting, she took the rope between her teeth and began to tug.

With nothing else to distract her, Katara was very progressive in wriggling out of her bonds. Within minutes, she'd gotten the ropes loose enough, and just a few more minutes later, she had the rope off completely. Then, she re-tied the cords so that a tug of one string would undo the entire thing. She looked around the cell. There was the stone slab, a mat, and a sheet over the slab which was meant to serve as a blanket or a pillow.

_'No water? How smart of them ...' _But they'd have to bring her food and drink soon.

She estimated that she'd been out for at least an hour ... that meant that there was, at the most, seven more hours of daylight, and then some three hours of darkness before the day was done. If they wanted to leave the land in time to keep their visit under a day, they would have to outrun the earth bender on land and sea. _'Aang and Sokka better hurry,'_ she thought as she wracked her brain for escape ideas, _'I don't know what else I can do ...'_

**..oo00oo..**

**..oo00oo..**

Following Kumo through the forest wasn't very taxing on the boy's ability to form plans, and therefore Aang and Sokka listened to Zuko's suggestion of a rescue plan. Having grown up with battle ships and war plans, he was the first to put forth a very convincing strategy. In short, they would infiltrate the prison, take Katara back then get back to the ship, and sail out to meet his uncle. If they wanted to get away from the earth nation, they'd have to get back to sea quick, and that fact didn't suggest that there was much time to dally around once inside the base. Zuko said they were to knock out any guards, because they were bound to be earth benders, and chances were that the prison was made entirely of earth as well. The fire prince was thouroughly pleased with his plan, or appeared to be, and the other three decided that it would be in the interest of the group's peace to agree with his plan. Zuko was commenting on how he would easily take out the guards on his own, Sokka stopped to consider something. He commented to Zuko as they passed several small woodland creatures, "You know, I think that you shouldn't fire bend while we're there."

The royal teenager nearly tripped at this statement. "WHAT! Why not?" Aang and Kumo, who had initially been startled by this outburst, proceeded to ignore the two bickering teenagers to the best of their abilities, as the tone of their voices hinted at a lengthy argument.

"Think about it," said Sokka, "even if we're knocking them out, if you start fire bend, things'll only get worse since the Earth nation isn't exactly the best friends with fire-benders, if you haven't noticed! They might all decide to go for you just because you fire bend!"

Zuko's hands balled into fists. "And do you think that I couldn't take any pathetic excuse for earth-benders?"

The other teenager brushed past Zuko, following Kumo further into the woods.

"I don't want you to be targeted at all!"

_I don't want you to get hurt._

The fire prince heard and understood the underlying meaning of Sokka's sentance. Zuko, about to make a retort, was shocked into forgetting his comeback. Sokka seemed to notice the lack of responce and turned around to see what was wrong. Realizing that he was expected to say something, the startled royal teenager fished around for something to say. "I can handle myself fine! You don't need to worry about me!"

Sokka fumed, semi-furious that his attempt at caring about the fire prince went unwanted. "**FINE**! Fine, I **won't**!"

Aang looked back and forth between the two with a confused face. "Come on Aang," Sokka growled, grabbing the Avatar's wrist, "we're going to go save my sister."

Zuko seemed to realize that he'd said the wrong thing. Sokka dragged Aang up front with Kumo while Zuko remained at the back of the group to think about his response, and to ponder in silence what he would have said otherwise. They followed Kumo the rest of the way in silence, which Kumo tactfully kept.

After what seemed like an hour, they stopped. "This is really deep into the forest," Aang noted as Kumo pointed to a small hill in the middle of a clearing. "There it is," Kumo said, turning around, "I don't think you're going to make it, but I will wait here for you if you want." Aang shook his head at Kumo's kind offer.

"Thanks, but no thanks, mister. If we can escape, we've really got to run, and I don't want to put you in more danger than you already are." Kumo smiled and nodded. "Then it's all right if I head off now?" Sokka and Aang nodded, waving to him as he turned to head back to his dock. The man looked reluctant to leave the group, but headed off through the forest by himself. As soon as Kumo's back was no longer visible, Aang pointed at the mound of dirt.

"THAT'S the prison?"

Zuko shook his head. "It's probably a shaft that goes down for a few meters. I'll bet anything that the prison's underground." Sokka nodded. The three boys then approached the mound of earth with one question: How to get in?

**..oo00oo..**

**..oo00oo..**

Cliffhanger? Bad thing for my return?

As you see, I'm back. ;-; I sorta got carried away by the real world for a while. It happens. I was honestly planning for more in the chapter, but I couldn't find it in me to fit it in. I was working on Endless Blue and I dropped in to see my reviews on all my stories. The majority of them for this fic read: UPDATE. T-T... Anyway, guess what? I've got--

**FANART**: at Distant Horizons, under _fanart_, my penname is always going to be Blue 1/2, or blue 1/2.

Look me up, ok? I'll try to put out another chapter in return. My friend Alex is getting my Avatar mojo rebooted, and so it may be a while ... but not this long. o-o this took forever to post. Sorry about that! Gotta blast.

--xxfissshbonesssxx


	11. Escape

**Chapter 11**

**A/N:** Heyo. I'm just updating things left and right...

Apologies beforehand for any spelling mistakes/grammer failings on my part.

Reviews might get me working on this story again.

No reviews will ensure this story stays on hold **indefinitely**. (:

**..oo00oo..**

**..oo00oo..**

**Chapter 11:** Escape

"Aang."

In the dim light that Zuko was using to illuminate the paths of the tunnels underground, the air bender turned his head to look at the speaker to his right.

"Yeah?"

"Run that theory on finding our mystery island by me again."

Aang rattled off the words from memory as best he could. "Um, it was something like... to get there, we had to go in all the directions and put our feet on the soil. And Water country was last, I think," He said though the uncertainty in his voice made the Fire Prince roll his eyes.

From behind them the third member of their party spoke up. "North, East, West, and South," Sokka named, ticking the directions off on his fingers. "She said one day in each direction, and set foot in the different kingdoms of the four countries. Once we did all that, we were supposed to head straight back into the ocean, where we're supposedly going to find a volcanic island no one's ever located."

The Prince seemed to absorb the words, then nodded. "Hn."

"Why do you ask?" Sokka quipped as they walked by the small light coming from Zuko's fist. The Fire Prince gave Sokka a half-glance over his shoulder.

"Because we've been here for more than half a day. If that's really the theory and we don't get off this island soon, we may have to start the process over."

The sound of Sokka's gulp was audible over the flickering of the fire and their combined footsteps.

"Then shouldn't we be looking _harder_?" he hissed, remembering not to shout lest the sound carry and reveal their presence. The Fire-Bender shrugged.

"We're looking as '_hard_' as we can," he hissed back, "and we've been looking for hours. These tunnels are interconnected like a maze. It's a wonder we haven't been going in circles."

"How do you know we're not?" Sokka pressed, glaring at the earthen tunnel walls.

"Because I haven't seen these rocks before," Aang replied in place of Zuko, gesturing with a free hand to the wall.

Zuko nodded his agreement, glancing back at the water-tribe boy and reaching back to tap Sokka's jaw which had dropped open.

"You might not want to let that hang open," he leered as he turned away, "We may be underground, but there's still a chance something will get caught in that obnoxious chatter-hole of yours."

Sokka ignored the bribe and pointed out another thing that was bothering him. "But we've been looking _together_. Shouldn't we split up? All of us can fire bend to light the way, and we can all pretty much handle ourselves if we run into trouble."

The Fire Prince turned abruptly and shoved an accusing finger Sokka's way--the one that wasn't balled in a fist lighting their way, anyway. "And then, when they DO catch us, they won't alert the other guards to our presence?" Sokka opened his mouth to retort but Zuko kept talking. "Think about it! As inexperienced you are with bending, do you really think you'd have the slightest chance of actually defending yourself against the guards here? This is an Earth Country prison, and they're not likely to have hired inexperienced benders to be the guards!"

"But--"

"Sokka, think about it," Aang began, trying to resolve the apparent squabble that had broken out between the two.

"Are you _siding_ with **him**?" Sokka asked in disbelief, eyes wide as he looked between the air-bender and the fire-bender, "I thought you were my friend!"

"Sokka, I _AM_ your friend," the Avatar argued softly, "But Zuko has a point. And you forget--I can't fire-bend anymore, so splitting up wouldn't be as good as you're thinking. Plus, you haven't had the Avatar powers for long, and you really don't have the best control over them. We really should stick together in case something happens."

"You couldn't hold off a flying lemur, let alone an Earth Prison guard," Zuko leered at the other teen, a grin spreading across his face as Sokka's hackles rose.

"I could, too!" he protested vehemently, taking an offended step towards the taller boy, "If Momo was here, I--"

Whatever he was going to say was cut off by a palm across his lips and a hot amber-eyed glare. Sokka grunted into the palm as his back hit the earthen walls of the tunnel, Zuko's forearm pressed across his chest like an iron bar. Aang's sharp 'shhhhh' sounded needlessly in the sudden silence of the tunnels, as Sokka was quite unable to form any kind of noise with the Fire Prince's palm against his face over his mouth, a rough thumb beneath his chin to tilt his head forcefully to meet the other boy's glare. An unnerving darkness befell the tunnels in the absence of Zuko's flame, as it had flickered out the instant Zuko had turned on the other teen.

"Do you _**WANT**_ to get us caught, idiot?" Zuko hissed hotly, three inches from Sokka's face. The other boy mumbled a weak reply into Zuko's palm.

"Guys, we can't fight here," the youngest teen cut in reasonably from the side of their squabble, pointing down the tunnel in the direction they hadn't gone yet, "We have to find Katara, and then we have to get out of here. Are you guys gonna act your age and help me find her or not?" He crossed his arms to emphasize his growing impatience. Zuko held Sokka against the wall a moment longer and then released him, arms dropping to his sides and a golden-eyed glare averting to the darkness of the tunnel ahead. The tunnel re-lit abruptly as Zuko balled one hand into a fist with an obviously aggravated flare. He stalked off past both boys with a stony expression, heat radiating off him. Aang and Sokka watched him go on ahead.

"...why do you do that, Sokka?" asked the younger of the two boys after a moment. Sokka looked confused. "Huh?"

"I mean, why do you always have to shout?" Aang clarified as they started off after the other member of their party, "We're in a small place where sound waves echo over long distances. Couldn't you have kept your guys' fight to whispers?"

Sokka pouted.

"It's not **my** fault," he whined as he walked with the Avatar after the fire-bender, "He always starts it. Don't tell me he doesn't say things that make you mad!"

Aang didn't deny it. "But just this once--we've got to find your sister, Sokka, and get out of here! No more shouting until we get out of these tunnels." He gave the older teen a pleading look. "Can't you do that? For Katara?"

The water-tribe boy sighed heavily as they caught up to Zuko.

"I'll try, Aang. I'll try."

**..oo00oo..**

**..oo00oo..**

Having freed herself from her bonds, Katara was getting ready to intercept any guards that might come down with food or, if her luck was that good, Aang and the others. So far, she'd been alone down here for hours on end, or at least that's how long it seemed.

Turning herself over in the darkness she sighed and stood, deciding that it would be best to be ready for a fight, should it come to that. The water-tribe girl stretched, limb by limb, eyes always searching the walls and ears open to listen for the tell-tale sound of earth crumbling away. When she had loosened every bit of herself she could think of, Katara decided to pass the time practicing water-bending maneuvers. She rose both hands palm-up before her and moved them in an arc, then crouched and threw her palms towards the earthen wall. She swept one hand across the ground as she swung a foot behind her and twisted her entire body around, bringing her other hand palm out to strike an imaginary foe with an imaginary jet of water. Her palm left the ground and swung in an arc above her head before sending an imaginary stream of water after the first, then standing fully and bringing both hands together, twisting them over one another and then making a motion as if to send the enemy flying off in a spiral. She ended her mock-attack in a defensive position, eyes scanning the small prison for any sign of change.

'_Nothing_,' she thought, somewhat put out. But she felt better the moment she exhaled, because she was ready.

Raising both arms in front of her, she began another series of movements, this time defending against a superior foe. At intervals, she would shift her focus and pretend to send needle-like spires of water flying at the enemy while keeping up her defenses against Earth and Fire benders. She would bring her palms up together and then throw her arms out in wide arcs around her, as if deflecting powerful streams of fire with equally strong shields of water. Spinning, her eyes were always watchful of the walls, ears always open and listening.

Bringing one hand to rest at the ready by her cheek in a balled fist and the other before her with her palm turned heavenwards, Katara ended her second series. She gave the prison another glance.

'_But_,' she thought to herself as she shifted stances, beginning with a neutral standing stance with her feet apart and her hands lax at both sides, _'this is better than sitting and waiting for something to happen to me.'_

With that, she launched into another series of flowing motions, sending invisible attacks at invisible enemies.

Halfway through this third sequence, the wall to her back began to shift. Immediately, she spun and faced it, dropping out of her stance instantly and bringing both hands to rest at her sides. Round blue eyes narrowed against the sudden light that flooded the small earthen cell, and she rose a hand to block the lantern rays. By the time her sight returned and she could make out the outline of a water flask at the man's side, instinct took over.

It was over in a matter of moments.

As the man rose the lantern to better see into the cave, the flask at his side jerked violently, causing him to upset the tray he'd been carrying. Katara sprung into action, dashing for the door and bending the water in the flask to rise up and hit the man between the eyes. She was at the cell door by the time he dropped the tray to cry out in pain, and she sprang into the hallway past him as he reflexively used Earth-bending to shut the cell wall. Landing in a crouch, the water-bender caught the lantern the guard had let fall in both hands and set it down as she stood again. Bending the water flask to her side, Katara turned around in time to see the guard coming to his senses, about to cry out that she'd gotten out. With a flick the flask was open and water shot out forcefully. The stream pounded powerfully against the man's temple, bringing him down with a thud to the earthen floor.

Katara watched him for signs of movement before bending the water back to the flask at her side and securing it to her body. Once she was set, water flask at her side and lantern in hand, she set off down the tunnel at a jog.

A few minutes later, still jogging, Katara broke into a small smile.

_'I'm not helpless,_' she thought proudly, making a mental note to tease Zuko incessantly later.

**..oo00oo..**

**..oo00oo..**

"Are you SURE we haven't been here three times before?" Sokka asked, speaking in a stage whisper to Aang as they followed the Fire Prince along a familiar path. The Avatar gave Sokka a worried look.

"Actually, I think we _have_ been by here before," he admitted, "But all the tunnels look exactly the same..."

"How do the Earth Benders know which ones to take, then?" muttered Sokka sullenly.

"They don't," Zuko said suddenly, groaning.

"Huh?" Aang and Sokka piped up intelligently.

Zuko let the light on his fist flare up a bit angrily with a hiss. "Think about it. Earth-benders would have no need for these tunnels at all. Why should they, when they can just bend themselves anywhere?"

"You mean we've been wandering around in a maze?" Aang asked, afraid of the answer.

Sokka looked between them and coughed slightly. "So... if you're saying what I think you're saying..."

"Awwwww," Aang groaned, sinking to the ground. How much time had they wasted just walking around in circles?!

"...then **you** owe **me** an _apology_," Sokka finished, looking at Zuko triumphantly. The Fire Prince gave him a look of undisguised confusion. "For shoving me up against the wall earlier," the water-tribe boy clarified with a grin.

"I'm not sorry about that."

"What?!"

"Are you deaf as well as dumb? I just said, '_I'm not sorry about that_'."

"Are you **serious**? You shoved me up against the wall for _no good reason_!"

"It was a perfectly logical thing to do at the time," Zuko argued hotly, the fire at his fist flaring a bit as he spoke and pointing at Sokka with his free hand. "You were getting loud, and at the _time_, shouting seemed like something that would've gotten us caught!"

"Well you should still apologize," the other teen retorted grumpily, arms crossed defiantly over his chest.

"Hey, someone's coming," Aang announced, looking down the tunnels suddenly. In an instant, all three were in defensive stances, Sokka and Aang facing the front and Zuko to the back. Each was prepared to defend as best they could, despite the little squabble that had just broken out.

Sokka frowned as he found a figure rushing towards them in the dark. "Hey!" He called out, pointing and unintentionally earth-bending the ground beneath the figure's feet. The person in the darkness gave a very feminine yell as it was thrown forwards off its feet at the group. Zuko spun around in time to watch Katara fly into Aang. Both he and Sokka had the sense to throw themselves up against the wall to avoid getting caught up as Katara and Aang tumbled over one another and eventually landed in a heap on the floor behind them. Aang sat up quickly but there were virtually swirls in his eyes and he groaned.

"Ooohhh, dizzy..."

"_Aang_!"

The air-bender's world rocked again as Katara threw herself into him again, this time with her arms around his shoulders in a fierce hug. Aang

"Oh! I'm so glad to see you guys!" the water-bender gushed, giving Aang another squeeze before she let go and looked at her air-bending friend.

"Hey, this is no time to be catching up," Zuko reminded the group, breaking up the short-lived relief at finding one another alright, "We're still in an Earth Country Prison."

"As if that wasn't obvious," Sokka muttered sullenly.

Zuko was about to retort when the sound of feet approaching stopped him dead in his tracks. Aang's eyes widened and he let go of Katara, standing up. "Oh, no," breathed the water-bender, "Guards?"

"Sounds like a lot of them," Aang guessed with a slight waver to his voice. "In this tunnel where we're all really close together, it'll be really hard to fight."

"So... We're outnumbered and disadvantaged?" Katara asked nervously even as she stood with her hand on the lip of the water flask. "How come that doesn't sound good?"

"Because it's not," Sokka groaned.

The Fire Prince balled his fists, half-snarling at the sounds of the other teens already giving up. They could surely hold off a few Earth Prison guards, no matter how bad he made it sound. The slight rumble of approaching feet, what must've been half the entire guard, shook the ground. Aang looked nervous but determined. Katara stood firmly beside him, hands at the ready to water-bend. Sokka was standing beside them on the other side of the tunnel, whining about things not looking good--and then, inspiration hit.

"Sokka!" Zuko's voice rung out suddenly, "Get us above ground!"

"Right," Sokka called back, wishing fervently that they were above ground at that moment.

The ground beneath their feet suddenly sank three feet, causing the four friends to fall on the ground. Just as they hit the earth, Aang with an '_oof_' and the others with grunts of surprise, the ground shot heavenwards towards the ceiling. It looked for an instant like they would be crushed between the swiftly rising floor and the ceiling. Katara had enough time to register the situation and begin to scream before the ceiling suddenly cracked and fissured into a shape just wide enough to allow the rising slab of earth to pass through it and up through the ground. With a sudden jolt, the piece of earth broke to the surface and cemented itself into the ground as if it had always been there. The four teens, still traveling at the speed of the slab of earth, were thrown into the air a bit and came down awkwardly.

Aang air-bended himself to his feet and landed just before Katara crashed down on top of him.

The other two teens weren't as lucky and landed separately on the unforgiving ground.

"Ohh" groaned Sokka, gripping his rear tenderly, as he'd been unfortunate enough to land on it, "ouch--_ouch_, jeez, that really hurt!"

"Yeah," agreed the Fire Prince as he sat up, rubbing his neck and looking around at the green that surrounded them, "But at least we're out."

At that moment the group realized they had indeed made it out above ground.

"Wooooohoooo!" Sokka shouted, pumping a fist into the air.

Zuko rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

Aang let out a whoop of laughter, jumping up into the air a foot or so. "We're out! We made it!"

Katara grinned broadly, unable to hold back a few giggles.

They'd escaped!

"What are you celebrating for?" Zuko cut in, "I hate to keep breaking up the happy atmosphere, but we're still standing right above the Earth Prison!"

Katara and Aang came back down from their happy high instantly. "You're right," Aang said, turning and pointing at the horizon. "There's a sea breeze coming from this direction. Let's get back to the ship."

"Right!" Katara agreed, and both set off at a dead run in the direction Aang had pointed out.

Sokka was about to complain loudly that Zuko was always cutting into their good times when he realized Zuko had already covered that point. Luckily, Aang and Katara were running on ahead and weren't here to see him looking somewhat ridiclious. His mouth was half-open and both fists were in the air. Zuko glanced at him curiously before a smirk spread across his pale features. Sokka glowered darkly at the Fire Prince.

"I _hate_ you," he muttered, sticking his tongue out at the older boy.

Zuko felt his eye twitch.

"Keep that out and I'll bite it off," he threatened, taking a half-step towards the other boy.

Sokka 'meep'-ed and ran off after the others. Zuko watched him flee with a smug grin before he set off at a run after the others as well.

**..oo00oo..**

**..oo00oo..**

**End Chapter. **

**Closing A/N: **Well! I realize it's been three years or so since I updated this... but I was looking through my old things and figured, '_oh well. Can't hurt to throw it out there'_. I DO have an ending planned for this story, and there IS Zukka ahead for those reading for that particular ship. If I get enough reviews/a good enough review to convince me to continue, I shall. If this chapter provokes absolutely no response out of you guys, well... I've also got a fairly large trash bin. -_eyes the story_- It'll fit. Why don't you make sure it doesn't end up there, and click that little blue button at the bottom of the screen?


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